Blue Skies are Good Remedy for A Tired Soul...

This is an ode to that ever present canopy high atop our heads and our tallest buildings. We might take it for granted often times, and God knows I do take it for granted from time to time. I mean, it has always been there and it has never literally come crashing down on our head (though it does happen, figuratively, from time to time in our lives but the sky's never really to blame in these cases) and it puts on some of the best displays human eyes can ever feast upon. But it's such a shame that we oftentimes hardly notice it.

My appreciation of a bright blue sky came to fruition about a couple of years ago. I was on my way to work, and at the time I was feeling down about the whole idea of life. I was walking down to where I usually take the bus to commute, when I noticed that the day was unusually bright (when you are depressed and down, it is a really good idea to divert your mind to other things and the bright light that day was practically screaming "Oohhh, pick me, pick me!"). It was bright, clear blue, with not the slightest hint of a cloud. The wind was only a whisper, and the buzzing noise of the busy city that was Jakarta had a bit of a muted quality to it (as if there was an ear muffler strapped on my head). It was as if the blueness of the sky drowned out the city noises, like it was a sound instead of a color. It was probably overly dramatic to say that my depression lifted instantly, but at that moment, it did. It felt like a wind just blew over a dusty surface, revealing a previously hidden gloss. No amount of Frisium or any other anti-depressant could ever replace that kind of effect.

A Scratch in the Sky

[It turned out to be a hot, sweaty day (blue sky with no clouds was usually a strong hint of a hot, sweaty day in Jakarta) but at least the depression lifted.]

Cloudy days, now that's a different thing. When the sky hide itself behind clouds, many people would say that it was a nice day to be inside the house and enjoy the many creature comforts that could be found in their individual dwellings. Maybe it's been hard-wired since the days of when humans were still living in caves. Rainy days, can't do nothing 'bout it, might as well put away our hunting spears away and go back to sleep in the cave. Something like that. The color of the gray sky is also quite melancholic, and if you're not in the reflective mood this can be quite a disadvantage to your psyche (I know it would be quite a disadvantage for me). But, no one can't deny that it's a really good time to get some quality Zzzzz.

Living in the state of California (near San Francisco, to be exact) for about one and a half month brought me to a deeper realization how a simple thing like a blue sky can really affect your mood, and give some healing. It was summertime in US soil, but the soil of my heart was growing cold. However, one thing in the US that never escaped notice was how big and wide the spaces are there. The sense of wide open spaces are so jarring there that one coming from a crowded place like Asia (such as myself) couldn't help but realize it, in a good way. Living in a small town of Pleasant Hill, where the highest building around was only 4 or 5 stories tall, the view of the sky was not the slightest obscured. There, you'd realized how vast the sky was, and the blueness of it was probably as deep as the ocean (even though it was on the other deep end of the vertical plane). It was hypnotizing, and it soothed the aching heart.

A Palm Tree among the Blue Skies

[The recipe for a tired soul: take a fresh picking of a blue sky (make sure you pick the most blue), squeeze, heat the blue juice until some vaporizes. Take a deep breath of the vapor and relax, drink the juice through your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your skin. (You can do the same thing as well when you catch a cold, but an extra dose of orange juice would probably help as well).]

I wonder whether it was why people, hypnotized by the sky, build skyscraper and try to reach it or even pierce it (like the Tower of Babel). But it did no good because it only obscures the view for those land dwellers. Maybe that's why it was so hard to find the truth these days, because there were so many skyscrapers out there.

Though that doesn't sound right, but it sure do feels right.

People would sometime ask whether or not you're a 'beach' or a 'mountain' person. There was a time when I would say without hesitation that I was more of a 'mountain' person, though I did have a thing or two about beaches. However, if asked now, I'd probably say that I love both equally. Both have their own qualities: mountains are more quiet, reflective and meditative; while beaches are more playful and youthful. And both have special relations to the blue sky.

Blue Skies on top of Lassen

It was a few years ago when I was staying over at a friend's villa in Puncak, a mountaineous area just outside of Jakarta. The surrounding environment was still quite green and natural (trees everywhere), and I was at this big field of grass on the hill right across from where my friend's villa was. Thought that it was probably nice to just lie down on the grass and stare at the sky. The sky that day was bright blue, with a helping of clear white clouds, just like whip cream on a fresh, blue-colored frappucino. But as I was doing so, I came to the realization of how small I was in the face of the vast sky, and it felt as if the weight of it all was crushing down on me. At the same time, I imagined how it felt if gravity was turned upside down. To be falling down to the infinte deep of the sky. I stood up feeling dizzy. That was the only time I became quite frightful of the sky.

It is just a silly musing, but I couldn't help but draw a comparison between the mountains and the beaches or the sea for that matter. While mountains try hard to reach into the sky, the sea does exactly that without even trying. If you want to see proof, just go to any beach on a really good day and look at the horizon. There, the blue sky came down to meet the sea at the end of the horizon. We might try hard to meditate, to reflect, in trying to reach the truth. But sometimes the innocence and the playfulness of youth itself attracts the truth even without any intentions of doing so.

Yes, this is an ode to a good, blue sky. That canopy high in the air that sees everything that goes on in the world below, yet often times taken for granted.

Blue skies are indeed good remedy for a tired soul.

A Mac Book, however, is a good alternative (and a completely different thing).

Viva Las Vegas! (The Aftermath)

Vegas ended, and it was time to drive back to Los Angeles. I didn't go straight back to San Francisco, though. Stayed overnight at my buddy's place in Orange County. The next day he and his wife took me to go visit some of the nearest beaches there in Los Angeles. Forgot the names, but as the picture on the right suggests, one of them was called Newport. The beaches were okay, though nothing compared to the likes you'd find in Bali, or even the Philippines. Duh. But they did have some nice looking women there. Feast for the eyes.

In any case, Vegas was great. Even though many people would relate Vegas to gambling, the closest thing I did that came close to gambling was playing the slot machine and in my opinion that was tame. The shows, though, that was the biggest selling point of Vegas for me. Back in LA, my friend's wife made good on her promise, I got my Oakley Juliet for half of the selling price. I didn't get any shoes though, and now that I looked back I regretted that decision because the price was so cheap there compared to here in the Philippines or even in Indonesia.

After going around the beaches, visitting my friend's wife sports store (for the sunglasses), and some casual mall crawling, it was time for me to fly back to San Francisco. Check in was a breeze and I was up on the plane in no time. Arrived in SFIA around 10 pm, took the train back to Walnut Creek, and asked Halim (a colleague who happened to be there as well) to pick me up and bring me back to the quiet little hamlet that was Pleasant Hill. Had to bribe him with a box of Godiva chocolates to wipe off the frown on his face, but it was cool.

There you go, nothing much, but I sure am missing Vegas and its shows now. Hope there will be a next time. For the time being, Viva Las Vegas indeed!

Viva Las Vegas! (US Trip Recollection, Part V)

A trip to the US is not complete without visitting Vegas, right? Well, personally I don't really think so (New York, I believe, fits this bill better), but still it'll add to the catalog of cities I've visitted. Not saying that I have a zealous ambition in adding the number of items in that list but I'm always glad with anything that comes my way. With that in mind, how could I turn down a friend's offer to take me to Vegas? All I had to do was to catch a plane from good ol' San Francisco to Los Angeles, and he'd pick me up at the airport and we'd drive straightaway in the middle of the night to pretty Vegas.

So, 2 weeks before the day I arrived in Vegas I booked an airplane ticket (United Airways) from SF to LA. Pretty straightforward affair, and was later impressed at the airport with the automatic check-in counter. All I had to do was to swipe my credit card (the one I used to pay for the ticket) and voila! Choose your own seats, print your boarding ticket, and I was all set. It was all DIY. A little detail I would like to put down: like to thank the brother who pointed out to me where the auto check-in counter was, well I did have to donate a bit of money for charity (he was there asking for donations to a certain cause which I forgot what it was) but the brother was kind enough, and he pointed out to a sorry shortie like me the way so it was cool.

So, after an hour of traveling by train from the little pleasant town of Pleasant Hill to SFIA in SF (got off at the wrong train station once, and had to change train, the whole affair made me a bit nervous along the way) and an hour-and-a-half flight from SF to LA, my friend and his wife finally picked me up at LAX's pick-up area. First place to visit was the nearest McD's drive-in to grab ourselves some grub and after that it was a long, 3-hour drive to Vegas all the way. Chatted with that long-time buddy of mine (knew him since elementary school) 'bout lotsa stuff, and played his PSP to get rid off the sleepiness. Finally dozed off a bit though, but woke up just in time to see the bright lights of Vegas.

First impression was: look at all those lights! And there was this bright beam of light shooting straight up from a big, glossy-black, pyramid-like structure (it's the Luxor, my friend pointed out to me). Couldn't say enough how much lights there were. Don't get the wrong impression, though, we didn't stay in any one of them fancy hotels. We went to the outskirts of Vegas and stayed in a cheap (but good enough) motel. It's the kind of cheap motel you see in the movies where the main character's staying when on the run from the bad guys or something (and where he or she will most likely get ambushed by one of the bad guy's henchmen). It's good enough for resting before the big day in Vegas.

The sun rose, and we rose as well. Got ourselves decent and ready, and went out of the room. It was a good day: the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and my skin was starting to get scorched and was drying up so fast it scared me. It was hot, and there was no perspiration on my skin not because I wasn't prespiring but because my sweat dried up instantly due to the heat. I'm not much of a fans when it comes to applying sticky liquid on my skin, but seeing how dastardly hot and dry the weather was I thought to myself that I can make an exception or two once in awhile. Asked my friend's wife for moisturizer without shame, and started applying it before my skin goes to hell (it was starting to wrinkle, by the way, and I was not ashamed to admit that I started to freak out a bit).

That was my first time ever in an American dessert, and boy was it hot! When you think of it, it's amazing that they built a city like Vegas in the middle of nowhere, and a scorching nowhere it was to boot.

Our first stop of the day was a big factory outlet. Nothing special, just a big factory outlet. Was looking at some Oakley glasses when my friend's wife told me that she could get that for half the price for me and I asked which model was the best. She said the most expensive one so far is Juliet so I said I want that one. Was interested with some Nike shoes, but thought better of it (but would later regretted that decision). After about an hour of walking around in the complex, I ended up buying nothing, but had a good time looking at some nice merchandises (and was quite happy with the prospect of having one of the coolest sunglasses with half the price). Next stop was 'The Strip'.

Alright, the Strip. They call it the Strip because it's a long road and this is where all the luxurious hotels are located. Remember the movies? Remember that whenever they shot Vegas they shot a street lined up with big fancy hotels and lots of lights? That's the Strip. We got there at around 12 in the noon. Even during daytime and without the fancy neon lights Vegas was quite extravagant. The decorations, the (fake, wanna-be, copy cat) architecture, the statues, the buildings, the flashy billboards with flashy advertisements, they all scream 'Big Money!' They have a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower, a compacted Venice complete with water canals (outside AND inside the hotel/shopping plaza/casino, to boot!), an onix black pyramid (The Luxor) and they even have a hotel named 'New York New York' with miniatures of famous landmarks from New York on top of the hotel and jet coasters zig-zaging in between 'em. To top it off, showing that Vegas is a place where people throw money away, up in the sky there was a plane circling around making a sentence 'John Doe loves Jane Doe' using its exhaust trail. You got the money, you got it.

One of the many classy restaurants inside 'The Mirage', there are cushions in between the big letters of 'Revolution'

The walkway to the entrance of the Beatles-themed show named 'Love', also by Cirque du Soleil

First stop at the Strip was lunch. There were many buffets in the many hotels of Vegas, and we visitted one of them. The food was okay. It was, after all, lunch buffet and in all honesty the food was average, something that is to be expected out of any buffet restaurant and nothing more. After that, it was hotel/casino hopping. We visitted lots of grand and luxurious hotels/casinos such as Caesar's palace, MGM, Venice, and many more, taking pictures and marveling at all the money they pour to create the level of luxury displayed all over the place from the obvious, out-in-the-open spaces to the corners and crevices of the hotels. Walking along the Strip I found many people giving away cards with pictures of ladies wearing 'suggestive' attires (sometimes downright blatant, nearing nudity). I guess that's Vegas, people gamble and when they do win they might want to celebrate (catch my drift?). According to my friend, the 'advertisements' are not representative. In other words, the ladies probably look as good as in the pictures...10 years ago.




The many examples of the grand architectures that can be found in Vegas

Just between noon and evening we were walking down the street to visit another hotel when we realized that we should have taken the bus (it was blistering hot) and we got in to the nearest 7-11 to get ourselves some drink to cool us down a bit. I believe someone stole some stuff from that 7-11 store while we were there. Vegas, they don't call it Sin city for nothing I guess. Walking down the road further more we arrived at a collection of building, one of 'em a big Coca Cola store. Went in, took some pics, and went up to the second floor where they sell this combo set of drinks made by the Coca Cola company. The range of flavours they have was quite staggering. Ginger-flavoured soda, anyone? They really have it all, from sweet to (I kid you not) bitter soda drink. And when I said bitter, I mean bitter as in taste-more-awful-than-your-most-hated-cough-solution bitter. Right next to the Coca Cola store was an M & M store. Well, it was chocolate all the way. Nothing bitter, mind you, just chocolate in many-colored coatings.

This advertisement can be found almost everywhere in Vegas. Yum...

Wish I was invited...

There was a place offering Grand Canyon tour with helicopter. I think the fee was around USD 300 (quite steep, but if I had the money one day I wouldn't mind) and thought to myself that I'd probably go for that the next time I went to the US in September (that didn't happen though, the project decided that everything was covered during my visit there so there was no business need for me to go there again in September. Boo-hoo) and my friend was, at the time, looking forward to it as well. So, that didn't happen, and anyways the Grand Canyon was only a really huge piece of coal (my friend's words, verbatim) so no big loss there. New York, well, that's a really different story. One day...one day...New York...New York...

On Top of 'The New York, New York'

Nearing evening we went back to the hotel where we parked our car (the hotel's name was 'The Mirage', where the buffet restaurant where we had our lunch happened to be as well) by means of a monorail. In hindsight, we thought that we should have used it instead of walking around, but then again we would have missed lots of good sceneries (and I wouldn't be able to take many pictures). We visited another hotel named 'Venice'. This was where they have the indoor and outdoor canals, and for those of you who are wondering: yes you can ride gondolas. The ceiling inside the building, painted with clouds and blue skies, also mimicks the time of day outside. So, during day time the ceiling would look like the skies outside during day time, and when night falls, the stars shine. Inside the building. Fake stars, of course. Damn, talk about going all the way.

Inside 'The Venice'

Sun went down, and it was time to have our dinner. For that, we needed to go back to our car. Passed 'Treasure Island' along the way, and the 'Pirates' show was on-going. The sidewalk right outside 'Treasure Island' was packed with people and it took some time for us to pass. We finally got back to 'The Mirage' and drove to the place where we were planning to have dinner. It was to be a seafood buffet restaurant, but by the time we got there the place was packed and the line was long. We had a deadline so we took another alternative: a Japanese restaurant which happened to be located in the same hotel/casino as the seafood buffet restaurant. The food was...well, sub-standard, but at least we had our dinner. We watched a show as well in there, free, and at the end of the show wooden boats hanging from the ceiling carried on rails started to run around the big casino room. On it were pretty dancers giving away plastic necklaces, throwing it down to the throng of people on the casino floor. Got lucky and caught one. Not bad for a souvenir.

Finally, we got to the end of the itinerary, the gala event of the day: 'Zumanity'. Before I venture further, let me tell you another thing famous about Vegas (aside from gambling, shopping and whoring): the shows. The shows! Boy, are they magnificent or what! They even created stages specifically for certain shows. A few examples come to mind: Cirque du Soleil, a famous circus troupe with lots of shows in Vegas, has some shows with stages created specifically for them. One is a show called 'O', where I heard the performers dance inside a stage-size aquarium, another is a show called 'Ka', where the performers perform on a stage that can rotate to a 90-degree angle and where the performers practically climb up across the stage. The Blue Man Group also has a show going on in Vegas at the time of my visit.

The show we were watching, 'Zumanity', was also a show performed by Cirque du Soleil. The stage is in 'New York, New York' and we came just a tad bit late. They were already starting, but we didn't miss much. The theme of the show was sexuality and sensuality. The performers danced, jumped, did acrobatic maneuvers on stage with very minimum attire. Even the ladies are bare-breasted most of the time. But the show was not about cheap nudity. It celebrated artistry in the sensuality of the human body in the forms of dances, acrobatic maneuvers, and often times, comedy. It was a beautiful performance accompanied by great acting and live, on-stage music and singing. It was USD 130 well spent. Shame that cameras are not allowed. The show was probably the best part of my visit in Vegas. If ever there would be a next time, I'm planning to watch more.

The show also marked the end of my visit to Vegas. It was time for us to drive back to Los Angeles. Some things that I regretted not doing in Vegas were: not visitting the Luxor and not seeing the water fountain show in front of 'The Bellagio' (featured in the movie 'Ocean's Eleven'). But, overall, it was an awesome trip, one that I don't mind doing again. One day was good enough, but next time I'm watching more shows!

Childhood

A long and arduous season it has been, my dear child,

Many a sunny days have passed coloring your skin brown,
Many a stormy nights have you endured,
Yet with innocent eyes braves you these days without a frown,
Though not yet it is your future assured.

Many a mistakes have you made, cuts and bruises inflicted, humiliating defeats
And yet many a victories have you achieved under,
the faces of the brilliant sun and the melancholic moon,
Your pure spirit and bravery, never they are torn asunder.
Alas, the end has come of your season of amazing feats,
Grown weary and bleak your heart will be soon.

Sleep then, my child, embrace the coming slumber,
Grant me the honor of taking over the reign,
and I will guide our chariot through the coming summer,
Towards duty and honor that has been ordained.

Sleep and carry yourself away to a land of dreams,
Build a castle made of clouds and hopes, so that one day I may gleam,
A castle of fortitude held up by the strongest beams,
From where we rule the lands of our life, oh so wonderful they all seem!

Come and go, these seasons will,
And come again your season shall,
Where you open your eyes to a perfect morning,
The sun shining, wind calling and rivers flowing,
And to your eyes will my gaze fell,
And remember a childhood so glorious I will.

You Can Not Kiss an Idea

Movie Review
V for Vendetta
Directed by James McTeigue

Based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta tells the story of one masked vigilante called simply by the codename 'V' (Hugo Weaving). Set in the bleak fictional future of Great Britain, V vows vendetta against the repressive British government and started wreaking havoc not only by the destructions of key governmental buildings but also by instilling ideas of freedom inside the minds of the citizens of Great Britain. Along the way, V met a woman named Evey (Natalie Portman), who reluctantly becomes entangled in V's conflict with the British government. Unknown to both of them, their past has a lot in common than they realized at first.

V for Vendetta has a lot of good things going on about it. First and foremost, the story is excellent. Alan Moore is quite known for graphic novel with stories that have a lot of moral gray areas and intricate plot details. For those who are in the graphic-novel-loving crowd should be familiar with Moore's Watchmen (which is also coming out for the big screen sometimes in 2009), and the story there follows the same style of intricate plots and twisted morality. Although heavy with political themes, the story of V manages to relate to the ordinary people. This is thanks to the character Evey and the background of her story.

The excellent story is supported by excellent screenplay written by Andy and Larry Wachowski (of the Matrix Trilogy fame). Coupled with the cinematography, the story and characters are excellently portrayed, calling forth the right kind of emotion for each scene from the audience. Even though it is the Wachowski brothers, don't expect Matrix-like action. They do the story justice by cutting down on the special effects and creating a screenplay that best describes each scene. They save the special effects for the last parts of the story, and even that is not grossly overdosed like what you find in the Matrix trilogy.

Performances by the actors and actresses are probably one of the strongest aspects of the movie (second only to the excellent story), with Natalie Portman perfectly portraying the character of Evey. She delivers a great and convincing performance in this movie (something which couldn't be said of her role as Princess Amidala in the Star Wars movies). However, the spotlight is definitely on V, played by Hugo Weaving. Probably the most extraordinary aspect of his performance is that Weaving manages to perfectly deliver the characters and personality of V without showing his face, since the character wears a Guy Fawkes mask all throughout the movie. A truly outstanding feat, considering that Weaving has to use other means to convey V's emotions aside from facial expressions.

I couldn't write enough praise when it comes to the story of V for Vendetta, something that could be said of the graphic novel Watchmen as well. Yes, you can't touch an idea, but ideas are probably one of the strongest moving forces in human lives. So is this movie. Highly recommended, for those who has a penchant for excellent and complex story. I suspect that those with quite a liberal point of view could find a thing or two to like about this movie as well.

Good Show, Lad!

Movie Review
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Directed by David Lean

Whoa. 1957. Old movie, but in full color of course. Ran across the DVD in one of Manila's many markets. Knowing that this movie's got a lot of praise, I thought that I owed it to myself to see it and find out by myself why it's one of IMDB's top 250 movies of all time (and why it won Academy Awards best picture long, long time ago).

The story tells of a Japanese POW (prisoners of war) camp somewhere in Burma, South East Asia. It opens up with the arrival of a battalion of British army under colonel Nicholson who previously surrendered to the Japanese. The camp's commander, one colonel Saito, orders these prisoners to build a bridge on the river Kwai (hence the movie's title). The bridge's development starts slowly, hindered by a dispute between Saito and Nicholson over the British officers' nature of involvement in building of the bridge. The dispute is settled, and the bridge's development continues. And of course, the story's not that simple, but I won't spoil that in this review.

There are many things to like about the movie. First off, Alec Guinness' acting is top of the line in this movie. Those of you who scratch your head when hearing his name, please recall Obi-Wan Kenobi and you'll know who I'm talking about. Still no clue? Then better stop reading right now. Kidding. Anyways, Guinness' acting is center stage in this movie. You will sympathize with his character straight off from start to finish. He fully deserves the Oscar for best actor that he won for his role in this movie. Sessue Hayakawa's believable and sympathetic performance as col. Saito also deserves a high praise. William Holden, as commander Shears, and Jack Hawkins as Major Warden also deserve honorable mention.

The screenplay and cinematography are just downright amazing. Each scenes are handled meticulously, and those who were involved obviously put a lot of care into making them perfect. Amazing that a movie made in 1957 could put so many amazing little details into each and every one of the scenes. Can't really stress enough how excellent the cinematography is, the shooting done in style so that you can even notice things happening both in the foreground and in the background. This truly shows off the excellent coordination between each scene's elements, be those in the foreground or the background. Truly an incredible feat considering that this movie was made in 1957 and that they didn't have a lot of high-tech tricks to play around with during that time (computer graphic, for example). There's a lot of incredible, unforgettable moments in this movie.

And then there's the story, of course. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people who watch this movie will be able to draw an analogy between this movie and the whole idea of war and military might. I have my own opinion on it as well, a really balanced one, but let's just say that this movie will touch on your morale senses. But don't take it too seriously. There's a lot of humorous scenes in the movie. And, if you pay attention to its many little details, you will find a lot of comedic touches sprinkled here and there in the movie's scenes, even among the seemingly serious ones. War analogies aside, you will get more entertainment out of the story if you try to enjoy it as it comes and not draw analogies (though it's rather difficult for me to do that).

Additionally, the music and sound effects are so...due to a lack of better word...classic. Vintage, even, in my humble opinion. Don't expect sweeping orchestra scores in this one, but the music fits the mood perfectly.

This movie screams classic all over the place. It's got everything: excellent performances, great cinematography, great and compelling story, good sense of humor, long running time (if you're used to movies with short running time, this one has the danger of putting you to sleep along the 161 minutes run time if you're really tired). They just don't make this kind of movie anymore these days. *Sigh*. Great movie, highly recommended. Enough said. Good show, lad! Good show!

Disturbed

Movie Review

Disturbia

Directed by D. J. Caruso

Disturbia, I've been wanting to see this movie for quite awhile. By the time I realized that IMDB gave it a decent review, the movie's out of circulation in the many theaters near me. My luck came around when I found a DVD of it back when I was visiting good ol' Jakarta. Got the chance to pop it into the DVD player on a good Sunday evening (while denying the fact that the next day was actually and inevitably Monday). And I had quite a fun watching this movie.

Disturbia tells a story of one Kale Brecht, whose life takes a turn for the worse when his father dies in a car accident, an accident in which he survives. After the tragedy, Brecht becomes rather antisocial and sullen. During a Spanish class, the teacher said something that provoked Kale's anger and physical violence ensues. One thing leads to another, and Brecht finds himself under house arrest for 3 months. Trying to get rid off the boredom afflicting his condition, Brecht tries to find entertainment by spying on his neighbours. It is during this time that he finds some unsettling things about one of his neighbours, one Robert Turner.

The story in Disturbia is quite good, but in my opinion it could have been developed more. I am in particular pointing out the relationship between Kale Brecht and his father, I feel that this is only to serve to bring the story to the part where Brecht got his house arrest and the events that will later follow, and there's no continuation of how Brecht cope and find redemption in the lost of his father. However, this is a thriller movie and not drama, and in this regards the story works quite well. The movie might not have the most scary, make-you-jump-out-of-seat, story and screenplay. However, in the thriller department, it still entertains.

Alright, let's take a look at some of the crucial elements of a thriller, or any good movies for that matter. Acting? Shia LaBeouf actually delivers, fitting his role as an angsty, antosocial teenager perfectly. Seems like he's good when it comes to playing teenager roles, especially with his face that blends innocence and mischief perfectly. Carrie-Anne Moss' performance is also decent, playing the mother of a hard-to-handle Brecht. Funny sidekick? Check. Aaron Yu, playing as Becht's best friend Ronald, delivers the comic reliefs in many of the movie's scenes. Hot chick? Check and double check. Sarah Roemer is your typical hot chick that you just gotta have in a thriller, but the good thing is that they don't whore her too much. And, last but not least, a scary villain? Check, with David Morse playing the antagonist role as Robert Turner. He's got the face, however I just don't see him as menacing enough a villain in this movie.

All in all, an entertaining movie all around. Good story with some regrettably underdeveloped potential but manage to entertain nonetheless, decent acting by the casts, and some interesting gadgetry in many of the scenes (Marketing, marketing! Brand awareness, brand awareness!). And I'm so getting a PlayStation Portable.

Who Watches The Watchmen?

Book Review
Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Alright, I'm not much of a comic book fan (and please bear in mind that comic is different than manga, it's Japanese counterpart). I don't follow stuff like the Marvel Universe, or Justice League of America. I mean, I know X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and all those superheroes, but only in general terms. My exposure to these characters is thanks to a good friend, who has quite a healthy collection of superheroes comics in his home library.

I am, however, always curious about books that are said to be excellent by a few sources, one of them being Time magazine. That was why when I saw Watchmen in one of Makati's book stores I got interested. On top of the cover, these words were printed: "One of Time Magazine's 100 best novels". Novel? Must be one heluva comic with one heluva story. On a side note, they call comics 'graphic novel' these days, but to me they will always be comic books. They just have much better stories.

A week later, on a Friday, I got my hands on one copy and started reading and finished by late next day on Saturday. From the moment I opened up the book, I was hooked. The artwork is vintage American comic, and the story is excellent. I could understand why Time magazine called this one of the best 100 novels. The story's excellent, with a lot of plot twists and tiny little details, and the psychological profiles of the many characters depicted in this 'graphic novel' are amazingly deep and multi-dimensional. Each and every one of them are believable human beings. Yes, the story is about people dressing up in costumes and masks and fighting crimes. But, that's what's great about it. These are just ordinary people with their own private fears and doubts.

The story's started with the mysterious murder of a costumed crime fighter (or vigilante, if you prefer that) named 'The Comedian'. His death is only the first of many to follow, with the murderer seeming intent on eliminating costumed crime fighters (whether active or retired). Determined to find out about the truth, one costumed vigilante with the name of Rorshcach started investigating. As to be expected, one thing leads to another, and soon enough, you got a pretty complicated yet excellently told story on your hands. There are so many story elements, like the cold war between the USA and the (then) USSR, the Keene Act that declared costumed vigilantes to be illegal, war in Vietnam, the golden age of comic books, and so on. Some (like me) would probably be unfamiliar with these background/concepts, but that won't take the pleasure of reading it away.

There are so many things to be said about the story, but at the least I could say that this is not your usual colorful superhero story. It's dark, and can be a bit depressing at times, at least to me. And unlike the usual superhero story, good and evil are not clear cut here. There's so much gray area in this story, it's not an easy 'black and white' story. There's this interesting thing worth mentioning: there's a 'story within story' thing going on along the way. Won't spoil it for you, but it's one of the many entertaining parts of the story. Furthermore, I can't say it enough, there are so many little details in this book, that you'd probably want to go through it again and again. Good value for money, right? To add to the growing glowing words I've been writing up until this point, I'd like to point out that the story's not only told in comic panels. You'll find sections where there are worded narratives in place of panels (usually at the end of a chapter). In both matters, comic panels and narratives, the book shines equally.

So, great story, great character psychological profiles, great artwork (vintage!), the list goes on and on. For those who love comic books, it's definitely a must have. And for those who love great stories, don't be put off by the comic panels presentation. You will find a deep and compelling story within this one. Certainly one of the best book I've ever read.

Enchanted Album

Music Review

Corinne Bailey Rae

by Corinne Bailey Rae

First heard of her in a compilation CD called 2007 Grammy Nominees. The song they put in that album was 'Put Your Records On'. The song started out relaxing and picked up tempo a bit during the chorus and throughout the rest of it. I was not deeply interested in her until, as always, I was browsing through Amazon and saw her album and realized that it's got good ratings.

Put it up in my list of albums to get, and sure enough one day here in Manila I was browsing one of the music store and found her album. Bought it straight away without thinking twice, especially it has a bonus CD with almost the same number of tracks as the main CD. Yep, it was a pretty good deal.

Popped the CD into the player and started listening to her songs. Seems like my initial impression of her was misleading, but only slightly. The songs in this debut album are mostly relaxing and only some of them are slightly up-tempo. Most have this dreamy quality in the melody. The mostly-love themed songs, the slow relaxing tempo, the dreamy and sweet characteristics of the melody blended with Rae's sweet and rather smokey voice made for an excellent chemistry. In other words, I'm saying that this CD is excellent. Excellent might not be the right word, methinks. 'Exquisite' is probably more spot on.

I'd like to mention some of the songs worth mentioning in my opinion. The album starts with 'Just Like A Star', a sweet and exquisite opening. 'Enchantment' is downright dreamy, one of my favourite songs in this album. 'Put Your Records On' and 'I'd Like To' are probably the only songs that are slightly up-tempo in the whole album. Not saying that the other songs are not enjoyable; they are all great songs and they are all as exquisite as a cup of smooth cappucino on a sunny and breezy Sunday afternoon. Which is probably a great time to listen to the album.

If you like sweet and relaxing music (with a touch of dreaminess), you can't go wrong with this album. I'm looking forward to further release from Rae.

Drama Made to Order

Movie Review
No Reservations
Directed by Scott Hicks

The management in the apartment where I am currently staying in Makati held a movie night-out event and invited the all the occupants. It was Friday night and since I got nothing else better to do, I figured that there's nothing wrong with it. Along with my other colleagues, we went to Rockwell to see the movie.

I thought that 'No Reservation' is a romantic comedy movie, but it seems that I was wrong (thanks to the movie poster which seems to indicate that it is indeed a romantic comedy). Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a chef working in a well-known restaurant. She's proud of her cooking, and is quite a perfectionist. Her perfectionism, her inability to tolerate criticism to her cookings and her stern manner prompted the restaurant manager, Paula (Patricia Clarkson), to ask her to go to therapy. She goes, but doesn't seem to have a clue about what's wrong with her. Her life is turned upside down when one day her sister with her daughter, Zoe (Abigail Breslin) came to visit her and got into an accident along the way. Her sister dies, and Kate has to take care of Zoe. While adjusting to this new life, Paula brings in another chef, Nick (Aaron Eckhart) to assist her. Kate at first sees him as a usurper and a potential competitor.

Along the way I realized that this movie is not a romantic comedy at all, but more of a drama movie. There are serious issues like dealing with death of a close family member, adjusting to a life living together with a member of family previously living somewhere else, being a single parent and so on and so forth. These serious issues are presented nicely in the movie, not too heavy, but not light either. There are many good scenes in this movies when it comes to this issues. The romantic element of the story is introduced later on in the movie. The overall balance of these elements are done nicely in the movie, however, and the story moves along a brisk and pleasant pace, not too slow but not too fast either. Humor elements are sprinkled evenly along the way to keep the audience entertained and to lighten things up a bit. The cooking bit is quite colorful and also reminded me of Ratatouille (and it actually reminded me that I wanted to learn to cook).

In the performance aspect, Catherine Zeta-Jones is definitely in the spotlight. Her acting is spot on with the character Kate, and she managed to tune her undeniably charming charisma to the same level as that of a girl-next-door type (compare that with her roles in, say, The Mask of Zorro). The chemistry between her and Zoe (Abigail Breslin) is just right, and Aaron Eckhart also delivered an entertaining performance. Character developments are excellent, yet not over the top, and the spotlight is again on Zeta-Jones' character, Kate, and also a bit on Breslin's Zoe.

All in all, a nice little surprise of a movie, that has the right amount of everything without overdoing it. Go see it (preferably with a companion) and get a decent dinner after that and you'd have a perfect night.

Good Action: Extinct

Movie Review
Resident Evil: Extinction
Director: Russell Mulcahy

The story of Resident Evil: Extinction continues from the previous movie where the world was turned into barren wastelands thanks to the infamous T-Virus. Alice (Milla Jovovich) is on the run by herself, fearing the possibility of hurting anyone around her and at the same time trying to find a place safe from the virus. Claire Redfield (a character from the video game, played by Ali Larter) leads a convoy along with Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr) scavenging for food and valuables from one dead city to another. They met along the way and decided to go to Alaska, where they thought it would be safe from the T-Virus. The journey is not easy, since they have to face members of Umbrella Corporation, who has gone hiding underground and who believed that Alice is the answer to their latest research.

Aesthetically, the movie uses a lot of brown colors to depict the dying world. There's nothing interesting in the plot, as with most movies in this genre, you could easily guess the outcome from early on. That brings us to the action: in this aspect, the movie is not exactly disappointing but it's not exactly spot on either. Everything you'd expect is here, but nothing more. As with most movies of this genre, there are some 'jumpy' moments but as I've said before, you could see it coming a mile away. Previous Resident Evil movies also have some cool factors (in my opinion). But this one seems to lack this. In simple word, this movie's rather uncool. Everything's just too formulaic.

However, if you're here to see Milla Jovovich looks sexy and kicks butts, then you won't be so disappointed. At least in this regard the movie delivers. Add to the mix Ali Larter (of Heroes fame), and the guys are in for quite a treat of an eye candy. However, don't expect more than that.

Another formulaic zombie movie, with pretty actresses and nothing much more than that. Don't get me wrong, the movie can still entertain, but just don't have too high an expectation when you walk in to the theater.

A Peaceful Little Academic Town...(US Trip Recollection, Part IV)

...called Berkley is one of the place me and some colleagues of mine used to frequented when I was in the US (I went there three times, actually). There was this really good ramen restaurant (which, alas, I forgot the name), they served big tasty portions for quite a reasonable price (for US standard, that is). And yes, in all of my three visits there, I ate there.

Some of the houses in Berkeley

The town was a small one indeed, and it had a peaceful vibe about it. It was also home to University of California-Berkeley, so you'd see a lot of young people there who were mostly students. In my first two visits I only came to the intersection where the ramen restaurant was located. I got a better picture of the town on my third visit, where I and the other went for a walk to see the other part of the town, the part where the campus was.

It was just another regular Sunday. Halim and Ken, two of my colleagues, decided to drive there for lunch and took me and Raymund along. Summer was fast approaching, and the sky was blue with little or no hint of cloud. A perfect day, it was. As to be expected when Halim chose to go there for lunch, the ramen restaurant was the definite place of choice. After lunch, we went for a walk down the street where the restaurant was, towards the part of the town where the campus was.

This part of the town was livelier than the part of town where the ramen restaurant was, with a lot of college students walking about here and there. We saw cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops selling UC-Berkeley-related stuff, and a book store where they sold a lot of second-hand books. I bought one myself, a book by Deepak Chopra, something about knowing God. There was also a store selling supposedly Bali handicrafts, but somehow I felt that the merchandise I found there weren't genuine Bali.

The Streets of Berkeley

I like the vibe there, students criss-crossing, students lying down on the grass reading books or talking to their friends, students smoking pot (kidding). The blue sky and the cool weather made the whole atmosphere a bit dreamy. A church bell on top of a high tower was playing a tune that eerily reminded me of one of those dracula movies. If it was night time, it would have probably spooked me. But it was day time, and the weather was perfect.

Around the Campus

If you happen to be around west California, somewhere in the vicinity of San Francisco, you couldn't go wrong in visiting Berkeley. A nice little hamlet with an academical vibe about it (and just a wee hints of pot in the air he he he), you will enjoy the serenity of the place.

(For more photos, please go to this link)

...Bubbly...

Music Review

Coco

By Colbie Caillat

About a week ago I was surfing the net and I was reading an article in CNET about Apple announcing a new line of iPods (by that time, the CNET reporters were on site in San Francisco attending the event). And sure enough, the next day Apple announced this new line of iPods (the new Nano, the new classic, and the anticipated iPod Touch with iPhone-like capabilities...without the phone) and I went straight for Apple's website.

While trying to pick up my jaws from the floor looking at the pictures of their new line up, I noticed an album that sort of drew my attention. You see, most of the time, Apple puts up a lot of high quality music albums for their iPod ads (still remember U2 adorning the boxes of 5G iPods)? Well, this time I saw Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long, KT Tunstall's Drastic Fantastic (I'm planning to get that one as well when it comes out) and well...what's this? Coco? By Colbie Caillat? Strange name...

Went to Amazon, and saw that Coco is Colbie Caillat's debut album. She's apparently quite well known in MySpace for her singing, and the song that helped her popularity was Bubbly. She's got good reviews there in Amazon, and after reading them I must say that I was totally interested in this album. After some looking around, I finally found her album and is now still listening to it while I'm writing this entry.

Fell in love straight away with the first track, Oxygen. After listening to the whole album, I can safely say that all of the songs in this album are great. And yes, Bubbly is a beautiful song. All the songs have that acoustic element, and all are quite relaxing music. The beautiful music, with its simple and relaxing melodies, is the kind that never force your attention away to it. Caillat has a very beautiful, smoky voice that matches perfectly with the music she's singing. Her album's like a naturally beautiful lady that doesn't put on make ups to draw attention. And the mood you get from listening to these songs is like the mood you get from looking at blue skies on a sunny summer's day.

You can see the music video of Bubbly in YouTube. Not bad looking either, this Colbie Caillat. All in all, a great debut album from Caillat that should not be missed by any of her fans in MySpace or by music afficionados in general.

Pinoys and Coins

I just don't get it, really. The cashiers at most of the convenience/department stores and restaurants here in the Philippines are obsessed with giving coins for change, even when I know for sure that they have bigger denominations (paper-based ones, of course) inside their cashier machines. I might be wrong here, and they might have some purpose in giving coins, but really why would you want to give out your smaller denominations if you have a bigger one that would suffice? Don't cashiers want to keep their smaller denominations for those many cases where they need them? That's how I see it and once again, I might be missing out on some purpose, but getting lots of coins for change is starting to really get on my nerves.

I have my own reason as to why I don't like this. Coins can really damage wallets, and too much coins can make that happen a lot faster. This, along with my reasoning above, adds to my growing irritation. Top that off with the fact that I tried to ask nicely for a bigger denomination and the cashier gave a curt reply that no, they don't have bigger denominations (which is bull-fucking-shit), really got me going. So, instead of getting 20 Pesos bill I got four 5-peso coins. Crap.

Okay, rewind that a bit.

I was buying a nice can of Nescafe coffee worth 32 pesos. I have a 50-peso bill in my wallet. Knowing that if I don't do anything bout it I'll be getting (if I'm lucky) a change of one 10-peso coin, one 5-peso coin, and three 1-peso coins (if not lucky, maybe three 5-peso coins and three 1-peso coins, and believe me it can go as bad as receiving eighteen 1-peso coins). The prospect of my wallet having to nurse 5 more coins worth of change inside its already bulging space is frightening, and since I don't have two 1-peso coins and only have some 5-peso coins, I decided to give the cashier one 50-peso bill and one 5-peso coin, so that I would be getting a change of one 20-peso bill and three 1-peso coins. Better than 5 coins, right? And then it happened. Fucking dumb-ass guy.

And, c'mon, cashiers have a better chance in exchanging all those coins. I mean, don't people with businesses like these have a bigger chance than an average Joe like me in going to the banks and exchanging all those stoopid coins for bigger denoms? Don't they do that on a daily basis? Don't they have a central bank where they regulate this shit? Or is it because they want to promote charity so that the average Joe like me have small change to give to beggars? I'm trying to look at the bright side here...but the brighter side still looks dim to me...

When you really think about it, it's no biggie, really, but still it gets on my nerves. I just see no point in giving out smaller denominations while bigger ones still suffice (AND available). Like I said, if I'm a cashier (which I am not, and that's why I might have missed out on some explanation as to why they give out coins/smaller denominations first), I would try using my bigger denominations if I can and hold on to the smaller ones for cases where they are truly needed. I love my wallet (and no, it's not LV or any of those stoopid expensive brands) and I would dearly love to see it lasts for a long time by not taking in too much coins.

Maybe it's this night shift that gets me pretty cranky about small, inconsequential stuff. Threw the coins inside one of the pockets in my bag instead. I'd probably forgot about them later on. These coins would happily build a nest inside my dark, dingy bag and start proliferating like cockroaches in dark, dingy places.

And I can't believe this rant post is actually longer than some of my movie reviews...

I definitely need more sleep.

Me, Myself and Everyone Else...

Though it didn't win during the project performances showcase in the office's outing in Yogyakarta recently, I can safely say that we, the people of Jakarta office in our project, are proud of this video that we made. Didn't really take much effort, because we were enjoying every minute of it. Much of the credit goes to Pipil, who did all of the video editing. He's done a great job!

Without further ado, please enjoy the video, courtesy of the Indonesians in our project in Manila!

Yes, Penguins Invented Surfing...Indeed...

Movie Review

Surf's Up

Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Oh, another movie about penguins? Wait, let me correct myself: another CGI movie about penguins? So, what's new this time? Well, for starters, these penguins claimed that they were the ones who invented surfing (along with cave paintings for proof), and instead of the cold arctic ice, they surf in a tropical island. Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), a local denizen of Shiverpool (ha ha, SHIVERpool...get it?), inspired by a visiting surfing legend Big Z (Jeff Bridges), grew up to be a surfer-wannabe, though he really needs to learn some more moves. Due to his inspiring to be a surfer, he becomes some sort of an outcast in his community of honest, hard-working, fish-collecting penguins. Shunned by his community and his own family, he longs to find an opportunity to prove himself. One day, that golden opportunity presents itself in the form of a tournament. Well, dear reader, you'd probably know where the story's going next so I won't elaborate further.

The whole theme of the coming of age of a penguin that is slightly different than the rest sounds quite familiar, isn't it? So, you'd probably be asking, what's so different this time? Well, aside from the surfing part, one thing that stands out is that the film is presented in a style that is a cross between a documentary and a reality show. So, you'll get a bit of a shaky camera angle, and the cast (the penguins, of course, not the voice actors) voicing their opinions on certain scenes or events during the movie in a set up that resembles a lot like interviews. Watching the movie is like watching 'the-making-of' documentary. Weird as it sounds, this set up actually works, and somehow became a part of the many comical scenes in the movie.

Another thing worth mentioning about the movie is that the computer graphic here is really good. Since this movie is about surfing, the creators really pay a lot of attention and effort into making the waves and the sea look realistic. Quite an achievement, I must say.

If you have a thing for CGI movie, and looking for something that is slightly different in presentation, it wouldn't hurt watching this movie. And, for casual audience, this movie will definitely entertain you with a lot of wacky scenes. Surf's up, dude!

(P. S. Watched this movie and Blades of Glory in one weekend, went to imdb and realized that these two have something in common: John Heder, who played as Jimmy MacElroy in Blades and voiced Chicken Joe in Surf's Up...ooooh, serendipity!)

Skate Like Your Life Depends On It

Movie Review

Blades of Glory

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Well, I must say that I was really entertained by watching this movie. Nothing really special about the story. It's basically about two rival skaters, Chaz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (John Heder) who, due to a scuffle between the both of them, got banned from the men's single competition for life. Their only hope to ever compete in skating again is a loophole in the regulation that allows them to skate as pairs.

You'd probably see the rest of the story coming from a mile away: they get together unwillingly at first, scuffles a bit more, trains together and go on and become one of the best pairs figure skaters. There's nothing in this movie that you haven't seen before. The story throws a lot of cliches at you. The only thing you've probably never seen before is two men skating as pairs. Both are straight, mind you, with Chaz on the rougher side of masculinity while Jimmy's more on the softer side. But, well, two men in figure skating pairs, wearing tights...expect a lot of sexually-charged jokes, especially those that are figuratively-gay flavoured, coming at you.

And when it comes to the jokes department, the movie delivers. Believe me, the jokes are satisfyingly funny, thanks to the comedic performance of Ferrell and Heder. Ferrell is fast becoming an icon in the comedy genre, delivering performances that are unique. To me, his sometimes clueless yet bewildered expressions are just right for the masculine Chaz character in this movie, a guy who's so full of himself but still likeable. John Heder gave quite a good performance as the perfectionist and good boy Jimmy MacElroy as well.

So, if you're in the mood for some good laughs, you won't go wrong in watching this movie. It'll give you some really good laughs.

Hong Kong, August 2007 (Third and Fourth Day)

This time around, I woke up first before my room mate did. Did the usual morning business and then went down for breakfast. This time, after the other swore off the hotel's morning buffet, we went together to have dim sum for breakfast. The dim sum restaurant was quite near the hotel, and it was along the way to the subway station. Very convenient indeed. As to be expected, the food was fabulous.

Ah...fresh trees in the morning

The group split up after that. The families opted to go to Disneyland, and some decided to go and visit some more Hong Kong markets. I decided that Disneyland didn't exactly scream 'Hong Kong', and opted to go with the second group. Was still in the mood to go toy hunting (Transformers Bumblebee, couldn't get that thing off my mind), so thought that I might have a better luck by going with the market-hunting group.

The Market Views

Since I have no luck in memorizing anything that sounds Chinese, I would have to admit that I could not recall the name of the first market that we visited that morning. But it has all the things that are unique to Hong Kong. Chinese signs and ads, old dilapidated apartments in the background, stalls selling cheap knock offs. But no such luck in finding Bumblebee. Along the way, some of the guys decided to go look for a place to sit. Conveniently enough, there was a small mall nearby, so while some of the ladies continued their shopping and haggling me and the guys went off to get some coffee and to rest our tired legs.

Everyone teamed up again around noon, and we headed off to our next destination: Stanley Main Street (see, I could remember it if it doesn't sound Chinese). Yep, it was another place with a market full of stalls selling cheap stuff and knock offs. No Bumblebees, but I got some unique souvenirs that were just right for mom and dad and also my brother. Those for my bro and dad were a bit more expensive and better since their birthdays are coming in September.

The Chinese Junk

Around this time I could pretty much sense the worries of some of my colleagues, especially my supervisor. Because I hadn't bought much stuff up until that point. I only have 1500 HKD with me when I came, and that won't get me much. It wasn't that I was stingy, it was just that if I want to get myself electronics I was pretty much more comfortable doing that in Indonesia. I go to places to see the sceneries and drink in the atmosphere. Not to shop. Unless if I could find something that is unique. And even that, souvenirs for family members come first in my priority (and believe me, I always had to drag myself when it comes to buying souvenirs). However, their efforts in pointing out stuff for me to buy is very much appreciated.

Stanley Main Street

Well, I finally got some things (the stuff for mom dad and bro), and I really hoped that that put their worries to rest.

One thing worth mentioning is that the sceneries along the way to Stanley Main Street was beautiful. We were skirting along the coasts, and the view there with the luxury apartment buildings lining the hills was beautiful. There were several beaches along the way, and in one of them we saw the Chinese-looking junk (basically a ship with decidedly Chinese-styled sails). It was just so Hong Kong. We also saw cable cars leading to Ocean Park, one of the famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong, traveling above the tall hill emblazoned with the Ocean Park logo. Too bad we didn't have the time to visit Ocean Park and to visit the beaches along the coastline. Next time.

The apartments lining the coastline

We went back to Kowloon after we finished with Stanley market (with my supervisor chiding me for not eating more than just a toast, hey I was full from the morning's breakfast) through the same route as the one we came from, but instead of taking the subway after the bus ride we took the ferry back to Kowloon. This ferry ride, in my opinion, was another unique thing in Hong Kong that I was glad I experienced. When I arrived at Kowloon's ferry terminal, another thing hit me: how our hotel was conveniently located. The ferry terminal was actually only within walking distance from our hotel, which is also not far from the nearest subway station. 19000 Pesos for plane tickets and 4-days-and-3-nights stay at a strategically-located 3-star hotel was really a good deal.

The view from Hong Kong Ferry Terminal

The view from the ferry

We took a rest for awhile, and then it was time for dinner. This time, the whole group went out together. It was interesting to find a restaurant with food and service so good in a building so dingy and had some sleazy 'establishments' on the higher floors. But like my boss said, there was food for the body and there was food for the soul. I couldn't decide which one's which. And boy was the food great! Guess this was one of the most remarkable things about Hong Kong. And yes, I ate a lot this time.

Outside our restaurant (notice the night club billboard?)

The night was still young, however, and furthermore that night was our last night in Hong Kong. Thus some of us, who were young (and who felt young) went out to Lan Kwai Fong (amazing, I could remember this one!), one of the night scenes in Hong Kong. After looking around at the bars lining up the area, we decided to settle down in a bar called Bulldog's (I think...). There they played one of the games that I really don't like: drinking game. It's simple, really, all you have to do is to choose a card from an upside down stack (so that you don't know what card you're getting) and put it on your forehead. You can see the others' cards except your own, and hoping that your card is not the smallest out of the lot, you pour your drink of choice (out of all the available bottles of drink) for the intended victim to drink in the provided glass. I just don't see the point, but it seems that my supervisor really wanted so bad to see me drunk. I entertained him by playing, but after 5 tries it showed that I was lucky. Not intending to let him walk away completely empty handed, I tried one drink that was supposed to be for another unlucky lad. Sure enough it got me tipsy, and for some reasons, really pissed.

Not fun at all.

The real reason why I remember the name of the place

After that, we had a bit of a midnight snack somewhere nearby. I was in a pissed-off mood, since I really didn't like getting drunk when I knew I didn't want it. Well, at least I wasn't drunk, only a bit tipsy. The whole affair was a disaster. I also didn't like the fact that they wouldn't let me pay more than 10 HKD just because I didn't drink much. I knew I could pay for it, and I didn't like it when some people cut me some slack. On certain matters, at least.

Whatever.

The Night Scene

Anyways, it was time to go back to the hotel to get some rest. The next day would be the day when we would be leaving for Manila.

Before heading for the airport though, we still have some time in the morning to do some last-minute shopping. I took that opportunity to try and look for a camera lens for one of my colleagues. Hendra, the pro photographer, was willing to accompany me and help look for it in Mong Kok. So, after our breakfast we went straight for Mong Kok, driven by the fact that we had little time before we have to leave for the airport at 12:45. After looking around at several shops, we finally found the lens. Wasn't easy to find, but was really glad Hendra was there to help me. Nice guy. Too bad I failed in trying to convince him to buy one of those digital photo frames.

That was the last of it, my romp around Hong Kong. The bus picked us up at the hotel at 12:45 and off we go to HKIA to finally return to Manila. I'd definitely go there again, if I have the chance (and if there's a bargain price for the whole ticket and hotel thing). To me, as an Indonesian, Hong Kong had just become the new Singapore.