It's a golden night for the Brits; still, the Streep is unbeatable for her superb performance in The Devil Wears Prada.  I love how she still emanates her character Miranda Priestly in her acceptance speech.  Ah, forget it, I love her.  "That's all."

I feel like my life is suddenly thrust in a predicament which I didn't think I would actually experience.  I'm not in denial; it's just surreal: You see it happen to other people but never expect the possibility that it could happen to you.  Everyday, it's as if a soap opera of events just unravel in front of me and I can't seem to do anything about it.  I'm left helpless, merely anticipating for what comes next.  There's nothing I could do about it, except to hope for the best.

Those reality TV shows have nothing on what happens to the actual life of a human being.

I watched the feature-film documentary An Inconvenient Truth a few days ago.  It chronicled the environment-saving efforts of then presidential candidate Al Gore.  The film focused on global warming and the effects that it has made on our home planet for the past couple of years.  For those who are still living in denial, global warming is no longer a phenomenon; it is scientifically-proven, it can destroy Earth, yet it can be stopped.

It was a brutal wake-up call that both scared me and made me cry.  It was heartwrenching to see the majestic snowy caps of Kilimanjaro become dry.  It was the ice cream in the horizon that slowly melted as time went on.  The South Pole is slowly becoming smaller as the ice dissolves inch by inch into the ocean.  Scientists have discovered polar bears drowning because they couldn't find icebergs or ice shelves to rest their weary bodies from their tiring hunt.  Typhoons are becoming stronger and more destructive than ever before.

Al Gore jokingly said that he was once the next president of the United States; something which a lot of Americans, and even non-Americans, were hoping to happen in seriousness.  But it did not happen.  Someone else took the seat instead and he is now faced by this pressing dilemma.  I wish he was slapped by it though.  That way, he'd take it seriously.

Yesterday, as I was reading the news - yes, I do read the news - I found out that the President of the US has lifted the ban on oil drilling in Alaska.  And it just made my blood boil.  A couple of weeks back, oil companies were banned from the daily operations of oil drilling in the area because of oil leaks that occured.  Now, it's as if nothing happened.  This man is so bent on "releasing" Iraq, and looking for fuel-generating locations that he can't see the big picture: Will we still have security should the wars continue?  Will we still have open places to walk on if global warming isn't stopped in time?

I'm just glad that our leaders here in Asia are considering this particular issue in the ASEAN Summit.  Granted, it might take a while before anyone can come up with the solution but if countries and their denizens don't start thinking about it now, then when?  When all the land is underwater already, how can mankind reverse that?

If you are still not yet convinced, watch the film.  And try visiting www.climatecrisis.net.  Sure, films can be a bit exaggerated at times but there are truths that one cannot deny in the face of national disasters happening left and right in the entire globe.  If the film does not scare you; I don't know what will.  At least that's what my feelings are about it.  What would yours be?

I just found out last December that the side gate of the subdivision where my dorm is leads directly to the pedestrian overpass going to school.  It's just down the street from where I'm staying.  Which means, from June to November, I have either been going out the main road and inhaling all the vehicular smoke being emitted or spending P14 for tricycle fare, sometimes even being duped for P15 if the driver doesn't have any change.

One is never too old to learn something new.  However, it's just somewhat funny to have realized this.  Six months of staying there and I only found that out last month.  I guess I got so comfortable doing the things I constantly did that I never bothered to venture out of the box.  Oh well.

C'est la vie.

I thought the year was somewhat eventful in terms of the films shown.  These were my best for 2006 (in no particular order):

1.  The Devil Wears Prada
2.  Thank You for Smoking
3.  The Departed
4.  The Prestige
5.  Casino Royale
6.  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
7.  The Lake House
8.  Scoop
9.  Memoirs of a Geisha
10. Eight Below
11. V for Vendetta

Have a slammin' 2007 everyone!

I had to consult my date book to confirm which films I really liked.

Blessed be.

I think it's a bit surreal how the year is about to end, not only just with my personal life but with what's happening around the world.

December of last year, I tendered my resignation as a full-time instructor at the school I worked for.  I was to pursue MA studies come June 2006 but I was willing to stay as a part-time instructor until October so that I can still mentor the new teacher who will be taking my place and finish the modules I was assigned to do.

Come April, I took the entrance exam for MA, and by May, I found out that I was accepted.  In a sense, I became a "working-student".  On Mondays and Tuesdays, I was in Manila studying; on Wednesday mornings, I would rush back to Pampanga to get to school by 12nn for my teaching duties.  I worked on Wednesdays until Fridays.  For five months, I juggled commuting to and fro, preparing lessons, tests, and computing grades, while reading required articles and writing research papers for my MA classes.  I barely noticed the months pass by; it was a whirlwind of activities that left me tired yet exhilirated.  It was a moment that made me happy.

By November, I had become a student, no longer working.  At this time, it seemed that the days seemed to drag by.  I was given this freedom with nothing much else to do except to study and I became so dependent on doing something that it rendered me a bit depressed.  What eventually happened, I was constantly in the malls and watching films being shown, while waiting for a break in the employment department.  I'm still waiting, and I hope the year starts on a positive note for me.

It seemed this year was very busy: Nic Kidman and Keith Urban, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes getting married (on different occasions); Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, and Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe breaking up; the still "questionable" Subic rape case against L/C Daniel Smith; Mayon Volcano erupting; Gringo Honasan arrested; Typhoon Reming devastating Albay.  I went on-line earlier and read that Saddam Hussein had been hanged early this morning.  That was probably the event to end all events, but it does leave me wondering, "What will happen in the year 2007?"  And does his death solve and end the on-going war in Iraq?

I guess we'll never really know; we can only hope for the best.

Blessed be.

I watched "Inang Yaya" (Mommy Nanny) last Friday.  Again, it was one of those solo movie outings that I constantly found myself in but never got around to getting used to.

I love watching films, but I'm the Hollywood movie-goer type.  Hence, to watch a Filipino film for me had to take a lot of persuasion.  There were two very good reasons why I decided to watch this film.  One: it's produced by Unitel, which, in my opinion, is the only credible film production company in the country; two: Maricel Soriano.  I am not a fan, but I know she is good.  Add to that, the Diamond Star playing the role of a nanny?!  This I really had to see.

I wasn't disappointed.  The script was well written; it was touching and funny, the two main ingredients in a movie that would make me love it.  It was a bit romanticized, and somehow you already know how it would end but it was still a delight to see it.  This is the movies after all.

I couldn't fall asleep last night.  Yes, that should come as a surprise because I love to sleep.  I treasure the moments when I am able to sleep for twelve hours and keep on wishing for more moments such as those.  It is not that I am a sloth or anything, I just love to sleep.  It is the only time when you can actually feel your mind and body relax and be free.  It is the best gift to give oneself: sufficient sleep.

I got ready for bed at midnight, but fell asleep at 2am instead.  I think it was around past 4am when I woke up.  I close my eyes but I was consciously aware of the moments passing by; it was as if my body was anticipating the sunrise.  I was practically willing myself to sleep, and almost cried doing so.  I think I fell asleep again at around 7am and then woke up at 11am.  Who needs nightmares when you can spend your night tossing and turning without getting decent sleep?

I don't know if it was the dorm, or if it was the coffee I drank that day, or if someone cast a cruel insomnia spell on me.  But just to be on the safe side, I'm laying off drinking coffee late in the afternoons... at least the caffeinated ones.