Giggly and Giddy
I met someone a couple of years ago. We had both arrived early for an association meeting and it was my first time to attend, so I didn't know anyone. He was reading a book to pass the time, and I found myself fascinated to see someone who goes to meetings early and brings a book along... because that's something I do a lot myself.
At best, we've been acquaintances since that day. We see each other probably once a month at gatherings, and we exchange nods at most. There's been hardly any real conversation or even casual discussion about anything or about anyone. You might say we were just one step better than being strangers.
I have to admit, though, that I've often wondered what he's like.
Anyway, last night, I needed to contact him for something related to the association, and for the first time ever, we got a text-exchange going that lasted around an hour or so. I was surprised to learn that he had a wicked sense of humor, and at one point I even accused him of being a 'bolero' -- he was such fun to text. I was so surprised to find myself feeling kinda giggly and giddy at the same time. haha!
It was a strange feeling. I don't think he was flirting with me, although there were a few lines there that were kinda borderline and therefore open to (mis)interpretation. And I admit that I let myself get carried away by the thought of what if...?
Heck, I'm still smiling ear-to-ear at the thought of those messages. haha!
Anyway, more than 24 hours have passed since then, and my common sense has finally (and belatedly) asserted itself. And while I harbor no illusions of a romance springing up between us, I have to admit that I really enjoyed the temporary 'high' and that feeling of girlish happiness that came with the experience.
No wonder people love the feeling of being in love. If an hour of texting can create this kind of a giddy sensation, then true love must feel truly amazing.
Tags:
Personal,
Relationships
Posted by CF at 11:30 PM
Il Mare
Watched
Il Mare on DVD today -- the original Korean movie that was the basis for the film
The Lake House.
Maybe it's because I knew more or less what to expect out of the story, but I found the original film to be much better than
the Hollywood adaptation. Some might find the pacing in the original film slow and therefore consider the film boring, but I found it touching.
There's very little dialogue in the Korean version, therefore so much of the story was visual. Which is a good thing, because I only had Mandarin and Cantonese as my audio language choices! Thank goodness for English subtitles! haha!
I think that the deliberately slow pacing of the story is a reflection of the experience of the lead characters. We may feel that time is going by so slowly for us as viewers, but time is passing by
even more slowly for the characters. We are merely getting a small taste of their experience.
You get a real sense that time is the enemy in this film, and you can't help but understand how the characters must feel since you too, as a viewer, are waiting with baited breath to see where all this will lead.
I also felt that the Korean version has a much cleaner ending (in terms of temporal paradoxes) than the Hollywood version. There were a lot less loose ends to clean-up in the way the two lead characters finally met in the original film.
Bottomline, the original was superior to the remake, and I'm glad I took the time to watch it.
Tags:
Movies
Posted by CF at 5:20 PM
Nothing More than Coffee
Met a friend for coffee this afternoon. He sent me text saying he was sleepy and bored. I had nothing better to do either, so we met up at a nearby Starbucks.
We didn't get to really talk much about anything serious. Just the latest movies and DVDs that we've watched. It was all really superficial conversation. I guess neither of us were in the mood to talk seriously about anything.
When I told another friend about that "coffee break," she referred to it as a date. She explains it this way --
he invited, you accepted, and he paid for coffee. Technically that's a date.The thing is, it didn't feel like a date. I tried for a while to pinpoint why I didn't see it that way, but I couldn't refute her logic. I guess I felt that it was just one of those times when you're bored with nothing better to do and you decide to hang out with someone for a while.
Sure, it means that you like someone's company enough that you would choose to spend time with him or her, but isn't that also what friendship is?
Anyway, my friend still kept on insisting that it was date, so I told her that if he invites me again for coffee three weeks in a row, then maybe we'd have something to talk about.
For now, I think it's better to assume that it was nothing more than coffee.
Tags:
Personal,
Relationships
Posted by CF at 6:45 PM
"Taken" In
Just finished watching Steven Spielberg's
Taken on DVD. And frankly, I still don't quite know how I feel about it.
I can understand why it was critically acclaimed and why it was considered "an epic TV event." There was great acting, powerful writing, very visual directing, beautiful special effects, and a healthy respect of history.
There were a lot of "A-ha" moments along the way, especially once you got past the first four segments that were essentially the backdrop of the story.
I guess I have mixed feelings because I wish there was more to the ending than what we got. To be fair though, the ending actually makes perfect sense when you finally step back after 20 hours of TV viewing and consider the big picture.
Three families. Four generations. Fifty years of secrets. Gotta love that tagline.
Side note:
Desmond Harrington is such a cutie.
Tags:
TV
Posted by CF at 4:50 PM
Ruffles are Back
That's my conclusion after traipsing around the mall this afternoon.
Although I don't really enjoy shopping, I've been so cooped up at home the past few weeks that I was thrilled to get out and wander around the malls again today. And the recurring trend that I noticed as I walked from one clothing store to another is that ruffles are in -- in a
big way.
Too bad I don't like them that much. Haha!
Tags:
Shopping,
Style
Posted by CF at 10:25 PM
Wanted: More West Wing
It took me a lot less time than I expected to finish Season 5 of
The West Wing on DVD.
It was simply too much fun to pop in disc after disc once I started watching it. At one point, I was literally watching 8 episodes each night -- this despite the fact that I would first watch
Bituing Walang Ningning and update the Carla Fanblog before starting my DVD marathon for the evening.
My favorite episode for this season has got to be
The Supremes, which focused on how the Bartlet Administration handled the unexpected death of a Supreme Court Justice. Such rollicking good fun!
A very close second is the episode entitled
Shutdown, where the Speaker of the House gets caught completely off-guard when President Bartlet decides to make an unexpected visit. Haha! That one still makes me snicker.
Can't think of a single episode that I didn't like, come to think of it. Maybe that's why I'm raring to buy copies of the other 6 seasons, starting with Season One.
Since I know so little about American politics (I still don't understand the platform differences of a Democrat and a Republican... and what's great is I don't need to understand it to enjoy the show), the issues that they have to grapple with are somewhat eye-opening. But that's what makes The West Wing just the type of entertainment that I really like -- it's great fun and educational to boot.
It's no wonder one critic was quoted as saying that this show "continues to be one of the most literate dramas on network tv." -- Roger Catlin, The Hartford Courant (2/4/2004)
I think I also understand better why presidents seem to literally age overnight once they're in office. The constant barrage of challenges, the unceasing criticism earned by bad judgment calls, the way people blithely ignore important achievements, and the layer upon layer of bureaucratic red tape that you have to cut through to get the simplest things done...! Why, it's amazing that the government even manages to function.
Guess it's time to hit the video stores and check whether the other seasons are available.
Tags:
TV
Posted by CF at 10:35 PM
"Thank You, Mr. President"
I finally got my hands on the complete fifth season of NBC's
The West Wing and just finished watching the first 12 episodes.
I'm reminded once again why I really enjoy this show. Of course it helps that the creator is
Aaron Sorkin, the same guy who created one of my favorite movies ever,
The American President. The TV series has the same smart, witty, moving, and occassionally dramatic feel as the movie (but minus the romance, of course).
It presents an eye-opening look at how the executive branch of the American political system works (or sometimes
doesn't work) with the legislative and judicial branches. There are times when I wonder how they ever get anything good done, with all the things that they're going up against.
But, that's not why I'm writing this entry (I'll wait until I've finished the entire season before I write my feedback). The main point I wanted to make is that I noticed how often the President's senior staff would end all of their meetings with him by saying "Thank You, Mr. President," regardless of how the meeting had gone.
If they had just received an approving nod from the Big Guy himself for an insightful recommendation, it's "Thank You, Mr. President." If they just got reprimanded for making a disastrous judgment call that resulted in the death of 14 Americans, it's still "Thank You, Mr. President" just before they walk out of the Oval Office.
And strangely enough, that got me thinking of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which reads:
In everthing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
I've always wondered how it's possible to give thanks to God in everything, especially since we can be dealt with a very lousy hand at different times in our lives. But here we have people (however fictional) who have learned to say thanks over and over, and actually mean it each time, regardless of whatever has been said to them, regardless of the circumstances that they find themselves in.
___
Haha! I can't believe I'm over-analyzing The West Wing. Whoever said TV was just an idiot's box?
Tags:
Personal,
TV,
Religion
Posted by CF at 11:25 AM
Merely Mortal
Lately I've been confronted by a lot of reminders of mortality.
An acquaintance dying of cardiac arrest in her mid-20s; a distant relative needing bypass surgery; a family friend suffering a stroke and ending up in ICU... it's like the cosmos is intent on making sure I don't ignore the fragility of life.
I hope it's not a sign of something else that's just around the corner.
Tags:
Personal
Posted by CF at 9:25 PM
New Weakness
I don't quite know how word got around, but my friends now know that I've got a real weakness for
Chef Tony's popcorn, especially the original flavor.
Just in the last five days I've received three canisters of this brand of popcorn as "thank you's" for little favors that I did! Haha!
No wonder I have trouble losing weight.
Tags:
Eats
Posted by CF at 10:55 PM
Drawing a Blank
All throughout this week, I kept getting ideas for what to post on this blog, either because something has happened, or because I suddenly had an insight that I wanted to preserve for future reflection.
But for some reason, it just doesn't stick with me. By the time I'm sitting here in front of my blog, I find myself drawing a blank.
It's a bit frustrating because I know that those thoughts are now gone, and I don't have any idea when, if ever, I will get them back.
Now I understand those TV shows where people carry around a tape recorder all day and sometimes say: "Note to self: do this or that." hehe!
Tags:
Personal
Posted by CF at 3:05 PM
Sarah's Becoming
Went and bought a copy of
Sarah Geronimo's latest CD, entitled
Becoming.
Yes, that's what happens when you watch
Bituing Walang Ningning without fail for twelve straight weeks. You become curious about the new album that's being hyped as Sarah's first "international" album.
The song that I liked the most is Track 11. It's now playing on the blog and is entitled
Magliliwanag Rin... Muli.
The other songs, well, they're enjoyable but they reminded me too much of foreign artists who already have an established sound.
For example:
- Track 3. You Mean the World To Me - very Jennifer Lopez
- Track 4. Carry My Love - sounds like Coco Lee, especially in the intro. Towards the end, it was like Celine Dion or Mariah Carey.
- Track 5. After Love - most definitely a Sade sound
- Track 6. Baby Blue - made me think of Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan
- Track 10. Don't You Worry - sounds like early Jessica Simpson or Britney Spears.
- Track 12. Is This Love - Felt like Christina Aguilera.
Consequently, Track 11.
Magliliwanag Rin... Muli was like a breath of fresh air. It sounds original, the arrangement was beautiful, the lyrics are touching, and Sarah's voice quality was perfect for it.
The title of the album "
Becoming" is certainly appropriate, because the song selections gave me the impression that her handlers haven't quite figured out how to position her yet, or what her "sound identity" is (for lack of a better term). So it's like she's in the process of transforming into something, but isn't completely done morphing yet. She's still
becoming.
On the plus side, the album does showcase all the different styles she can deliver. On the minus side though, her detractors can once again accuse her of not having her own identity, of once again copying the styles of other existing artists -- even if this time around she's copying international ones.
Tags:
Music
Posted by CF at 3:10 PM
Victims of Circumstance
Just finished reading an article. The author says that all too often, the situations that we find ourselves in (aka the "social context") shape and influence our decisions so much more than we realize. As thinkers, we are not as independent as we would like to believe.
The article is short, eye-opening, and somewhat scary. I'm sure I'll want to read this again.
From
Getting Out of Embed(The Role of Social Context in Decision Making):
To demonstrate the importance of social context, let’s look at three famous social psychology experiments, each of which provides a slightly different lesson.
The experiments show why even intelligent people can behave in very unintelligent ways when put into a specific social situation.
It's surprising how easily we can become victims of circumstance. Makes me wonder just how effective a jury-based justice system can really be.
Tags:
Books
Posted by CF at 2:15 PM
