Mellow weekend

I've been thinking. My weekend or should I say "days off" during my stint in the call center industry (days off varies so I can't really say Saturday and Sunday) for two years had been full of fun. I usually go to the mall with my colleague-friends and watch the latest movies (even watched three films in one day), hang out at Bo's Ayala (with my usual Caramel frap) and when the night comes, we invade the hip (yet cheap) videoke bar at Mango avenue. If time and money permits, we go out of town to unwind.

I haven't had that kind of weekend when I came back here in the rural city. I realized that I missed that a lot that I have considered going back to the industry mainly for that reason. That was a few weeks after I came back home. I decided to let December pass by and see if I still want to go back. Then, it hit me. I can always go back but I know deep down that I will eventually grow out of it and end up quitting altogether. That's not what I wanted.

I miss all the people that I befriended and who befriended me while I was in Cebu. Some have gone abroad, some decided to stay in the industry and some quit in favor of a day job. I appreciate the fact that they still send me messages telling me their achievements, updates on who got fired or promoted and the fact that they miss me too.

Now, my weekends have become mellow. I usually watch the movies and series that I have downloaded (in the process I save money). I'm currently finishing the third season of Prison Break (only 13 episodes due to writers strike). There's an ongoing festival here called Kaamulan and it's been great so far, according to my siblings who organized a major event (the most popular event in the festival).

As for books, I have set aside reading for some time now. The fact is, there's no bookstore here in the city. And there's this gadget called Playstation Portable that's been distracting me (couldn't help but purchase it last December because I can now play Virtua Tennis 3).

By the way, I still miss Timezone Ayala. =)

The expected and the unexpected at the Oscars

Surprisingly, Star World did not air the live telecast of the Academy Awards so I had to watch the broadcast on the local channel (ABS-CBN). To my dismay, there's just too much advertisements that I am pretty sure that the broadcast was not via satellite. So the next best thing was to surf the official website of the Oscars. Here's what I found out.

All the major acting categories were won by Europeans: The expected were Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood" and Javier Bardem for "No Country for Old Men." The unexpected were Marion Cotillard for "La Vie En Rose" and Tilda Swinton for "Michael Clayton."

I was still happy when "Juno" won one award and that's for best original screenplay for Diablo Cody. I just found out that this was the first screenplay work for Cody. Wish I could do that!

There's just too much furor and media publicity over the Coen brothers' film, especially when it won the best picture plum. Time for download!

Enchanted weekend with the Chipmunks

After a harrowing "one-legged" week experience, I spent most of my weekend watching the films and series' episodes that I downloaded (There are no theaters here in my city).

I know the movies "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "Enchanted" were shown late last year but I guess I was just too busy with my work and I also learned that the quality of the files becomes better when you give it a few weeks.

I have to say that the movies were really great and it definitely cheered me up. I especially liked Theodore (pictured) from the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" film. I read the wikipedia article about the movie and was surprised that it received a lot of negative criticisms. In the end, it was still the public that decided what movies to watch or not so the movie still earned more than $300 million worldwide. Good for the Chipmunks! Same thing for "Enchanted."

The writers' strike has ended. This means that it's full steam ahead for our favorite series. I'm currently keeping track of "Kyle XY" and "Ugly Betty" series.

I guess that's all for now.

I could not walk for a week...

I just had a scary experience last week. Last weekend, I twisted my ankle as I avoided stepping on our dog. I experienced a minor pain on my right ankle but ignored it. I still went to Valencia with my family, spent the night in the hotel and swam in the hotel's swimming pool.

However, the pain did not subside and it came to the point that I could not step on my right foot. I had it massaged by a local masseur (elder "manghihilot") but it just aggravated the pain. Eventually, I had to carry around a wooden chair to support my right foot as I hopscotched around the house. It took six days for the pain to subside. Luckily, a good friend of mine from Davao texted me and told me to just drink 500mg mefenamic acid and just put cold compress on my foot. This turned out to be the best solution. To think, I've been mulling over the possibility of confining myself in a hospital.

Looking back, I realized what would have been the situation if I had this when I was still in Cebu. I was living alone back then. My family is here to assist me when I needed something. I also realized that I've been taking my health for granted. Time for reality check, I guess.

Good thing I work at home so I still managed to do my tasks except for a well-deserved rest last Tuesday. :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Do I need to write a poem? Do I need to write what I think about it? I guess maybe not.

It's raining hard today. It's been like this for the past few days. Fog has become a regular visitor in our house, something that I did not encounter when I was still in Cebu. Ironically, I have conflicting feelings about it and I don't know why. I will figure this out...or maybe not.

Penchant for teaching

Lately, I've been considering a career in teaching, although not in the near future. I like what I'm doing right now. I mean, I just work at home. I earn pretty much the same. Problem is, I'm not sure if this is my niche in life. Anyway, I've started filling out an application for a Professional Teaching Certification for the UP Open University. I guess that will do for now.

Juno

I downloaded this movie last week and just had the time to watch it yesterday. I was intrigued as to why this movie garnered so much praise and earned so much in the box office. Now I know why. It's a simple yet profound movie. I hope this movie wins in the upcoming Academy Awards. It has been nominated for four major categories. Liked the song too.

Football mania - New York Giants wins

I am not a fan of American football. However, the mania this sporting event had created all over the world, especially Americans, was enough to merit an entry.

Based on what I read, New York Giants halted the unbeaten streak of New England Patriots on Sunday night to clinch the Super Bowl XLII title. The last minute victory by the Giants made the drama even more interesting, so interesting that Nielsen announced that the event was the second-most watched show in U.S. Television history with 97.5 million viewers. I just found out that the record holder was this TV show "MASH." The season finale of this show attracted 106 million viewers in 1983.

By the way, I also found out that thousands of New Yorkers celebrated the win by wrapping some trees along the streets with toilet paper. There must be a logical explanation to that but I would rather not dwell on it.

To New York, congratulations! (that is, if you'll ever read this :) )