whereabouts 2

i just finished reading twilight, the first book out of four (although i've seen the movie first but i can say the book version is so much better than the movie). i envy stephanie meyer's writing prowess and how she creatively play around with words.  i so love reading my collection of twilight's e-book set from my sister's
ipad. now i enjoy not carrying bulky books to bed. i have so much time to read now which hasn't happened in years. i just can't stop picturing bella as kristen stewart whilst robert patinson as edward. that's just the effect of watching the movie first before even reading the book, you can't help but picture the characters as the movie stars.

for stephanie meyer fan's reading my blog, i've made this effort to share the e-book set and here's the link if you want to download. just a reminder, if you get a message telling you to upgrade to a premium account to download the entire set, just disregard that and download each separately. don't fret. enjoy.

EDSA revolution '86 turns 25!

today, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the monumental EDSA revolution/coup d' etat.

t'was 1986, i was six then and although i wasn't truly aware what on earth is happening, i knew one thing for sure, something is inexplicably wrong. we still live in manila back then, walking distance from the presidential abode, the malacañang. my memory is still lucid as i can still recall those chaotic days, the noise from the helicopters, the tear gas, people were out on the street.

the windows are shut as we have our lunch. my mom kept her calm and drenched all those little towels she could find to cover our face so we do not inhale the tear gas. days passed and seeing men in military uniform outside our compound turned into a typical sight. my dad asked his friend who resides in antipolo back then if we could crash for while whilst waiting for the situation in manila to cool down. i  don't remember packing because we might've left manila before sun rise. i don't remember neither if it took us weeks or months in antipolo but when we went back to manila it was easter and it was already peaceful. little did i know, leaving manila would be for good. we boarded this big truck which carried all our stuff and never went back.

my family lived in antipolo for twenty years since after the edsa revolt.

i once got obsessed reading about martial law and how the edsa revolt came about. my mom kept clippings from old newspapers  for us to read someday because no one can just travel back in time to know what really happened. twenty friggin years of tyranny is like having no air to breathe. many people died and disappeared. i hope this never happens again in my lifetime.


“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
~ Thucydides

+_+

on some corners of the earth

our cable tv was off since yesterday afternoon. i missed the news last night so i wasn't aware other parts of the world went on rogue. new zealand was hit by a magnitude 7 quake. libya is about to oust the head of their country and there was a crackdown in bahrain. they just celebrated 249 days without a government according to yahoo! news.  to date, our cable tv is up and running again. technicians from the cable company dropped by to get it fixed. there was just some trouble with the coax cables outside i guess. yesterday, it was our fixed line. actually, there was no trouble with the phone line, t'was the unit that was faulty. finally t'was replaced as it never worked properly since day one.  going back, what happened in new zealand was really devastating. we should always pray because you'll never know what's in store.

my life in the world of woes

free at last. today's my last day with my current job. i spent 3 years and 2 months with the company. it was the longest with my many years of working. i just need change i guess. i've never felt so relieved. i can finally read books again without the need to worry that i will sleep late and i have work tomorrow. i am beginning to unlearn a lot of things. i'll be embarking on a new journey.  i want to rest first and appreciate each and every day. then, i'll start anew.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another... - Anatole France

today's whereabouts

my sisters and i's new machine readable passports finally came. our trip to singapore will finally push through. i love the maroon passport, it's prettier than the green one. well, good thing we left an authorization letter to the guard along with our LBC receipts and one valid id for each one of us. the guard downstairs rang us  up past 2:00 pm to advise that our passports has arrived. i was really excited to check it out. the courier guy took copies of the authorization letters and the LBC receipts so don't forget to attach them in case you won't be home to receive your passport. it took 15 working days (supposedly 14) because of the holiday in paranaque couple of days ago i think (as per the person my sister spoke with, who was also quite rude, over DFA's passport courier hotline.

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the cast

• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers
• Mila Kunis as Lily
• Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy
• Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers
• Winona Ryder as Beth MacIntyre

black swan (2010)

black swan is about being obsessed with perfection.

Nina sayers, a daughter of a former dancer who gave up her career after she got pregnant with her. Nina is beautiful but naive. she almost lived a perfect life. Nina has a good and solid relationship with her mom who's a control freak. The casting for the production of swan lake in this new york city ballet company where Nina works finally opened. The ballet director, Thomas Leroy, is reluctant to cast Nina. He claims her rigid technique makes her an ideal casting for the White Swan, but she lacks the passion of the darkly sensual Black Swan. When he forces a kiss on her, she bit him and Thomas sees her capacity for passion and gave her the role.

Nina, on the other hand, displayed a number of psychotic symptoms such as strong delusions and elaborate visual hallucinations. She begins to feel paranoid that Lily, her understudy, is determined to take the lead away from her. Thomas, meanwhile, became increasingly critical of Nina's "frigid" dancing as the Black Swan, and told her that she should stop being such a perfectionist and simply lose herself in the Black Swan role. Nina's delusions worsened on the eve of her performance. She had delusions that she had an argument with Lily, her understudy, and that she stabbed her and kept her corpse in her dressing room only to find that she actually stabbed herself and there wasn't anyone in the dressing room but her. After Thomas enthusiastically congratulated Nina on her performance for the fourth and final act as the White Swan. Lily, Thomas and the rest of the cast gasps in horror after seeing Nina covered in blood. The film draws to a close with Nina staring up at the stage lights while whispering "I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect," as the screen fades to white and the audience chants her name. this is why i like psychological thrillers, it'll make you go crazy lol.

shutter island (2010)

shutter island 

synopsis:

1954, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his newly assigned partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), go to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island located in Boston Harbor. They are investigating the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient who apparently vanished from a locked room, leaving a note behind that reads: "THE LAW OF 4, WHO IS 67?" Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the head psychiatrist, explains that Rachel was institutionalized after drowning her three children, but has been refusing to accept the reality of being in a mental hospital.

teddy was engrossed trying to unravel who is 67 based on rachel's note. he figured himself that the number '67' pertained to aeddis, whom he believes to be the institution's allegedly non-existent 67th patient (andrew laeddis was sent to Ashecliffe for his crime and then disappeared). even before it was revealed on the later part of the movie, i realized the significance of the pills teddy was forced to take every time his migraine attacks surges. the pills he took made him light-sensitive because it was actually intended to 'drug' him. teddy found that he was the subject of the experiment and Dr. Cawley told him that he came to the island without a partner – nobody seems to know Chuck (Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule). Dr. Cawley who reveals that Teddy is not Edward Daniels, but ex-Marshal Andrew Laeddis. Cawley says that he has been a patient at Ashecliffe for two years since he murdered his manic depressive wife in a fit of rage after discovering she had drowned their children. Cawley explains that Rachel Solando never existed, neither as patient nor psychiatrist. "Chuck" then arrives and reveals himself as Dr. Sheehan, Andrew's psychiatrist; the woman who was presented as Solando the patient turns out to be a nurse. Sheehan and Cawley state that Andrew lived the fantasy of still being an active U.S. Marshal, searching for Andrew Laeddis as a means to disassociate himself from what he had done. They show him that the names "Edward Daniels" and "Rachel Solando" are anagrams of "Andrew Laeddis" and "Dolores Chanal", respectively, thus constructing "the law of 4" (four names) and affirming Laeddis as being "67".

Cawley explains that Andrew has gone through repeated cycles of realizing the truth, only to regress into his fantasy again, during which he has injured multiple orderlies and patients, leading the administrative board to demand a lobotomy as a permanent solution to his problem. Sheehan and Cawley explain that they decided to try an experimental therapy, in which they created the role play of "Rachel's" disappearance based on Andrew's fantasy. They say they hoped that by failing to uncover his mind-control conspiracy, Andrew would see reality and return to it permanently.

Andrew appears to accept Sheehan's and Cawley's explanations, blaming himself for ignoring Dolores' mental illness until she killed their children. Experiencing yet another migraine, which causes a flashback of the traumatic event of his wife's and children's deathCawley explains that Andrew has gone through repeated cycles of realizing the truth, only to regress into his fantasy again, during which he has injured multiple orderlies and patients, leading the administrative board to demand a lobotomy as a permanent solution to his problem. Sheehan and Cawley explain that they decided to try an experimental therapy, in which they created the role play of "Rachel's" disappearance based on Andrew's fantasy. They say they hoped that by failing to uncover his mind-control conspiracy, Andrew would see reality and return to it permanently.

this is what i love about psycho thrillers, you are compelled to think.

movie movie

garden state (2004)

Zach Braff as andrew
natalie portman as sam

 sam is a pathological lier and an epileptic whilst andrew, an actor/waiter. andrew woke up one morning because of a phone call from his dad, his mom died and he needed to fly to new jersey, his hometown for his mom's wake. andrew then saw his friends from high school dave & mark in the cemetery and he told them he's there because his mom just passed away. andrew was then invited by his friends to join them in this house party. they were stoned afterwards.

andrew realized he needs to show up for a doctor's appointment (arranged by his psychiatrist dad), he the met sam, also a patient and a pathological lier. andrew and sam became friends. sam took him to her house and introduced him to her mom and adopted brother. andrew admitted that he made a huge mistake when he was a child by pushing his mom and accidentally left her paraphlegic. andrew's dad then blamed him for what happened and put him on medication by taking pills and lithium. andrew had a serious talk with his dad one night before he leave for new jersey , he told him that he has forgiven him. the next day, Mark tells Andrew that he needs help "tracking down" a going-away present for him. Sam, Andrew, and Mark spend the day together, ending it in a quarry in Newark where Mark talks to a man named Albert who is working to keep off intruders out of the quarry. the three visitors discuss the reasons for which Albert and his wife choose to live in the quarry. Albert explains that living there and exploring the quarry is "doing something that's completely unique, that's never been done before," mirroring an earlier speech by Sam. Finally, Albert explains that what actually matters is living with his family. Andrew is inspired by the conversation, and outside in the rain, he climbs atop a derelict crane and screams into the quarry, joined by Sam and Mark. on the day of andrews flight. he painfully said goodbye to sam in the airport. sam realized he doesn't want to waste any more of his life without sam. the end.

it was a nice flick. garden state is just a reminder that life is short and there's always no better time than now. i liked the OST so i downloaded the full album. i was also amazed with zach braff because he also directed, wrote the screenplay for garden state and  even chose the songs included in the movie's OST. i thought he's really brilliant which is really contrary to his character in this hit sitcom scrubs. i loved this movie. it's a must see.

+_+

scott pilgrim vs. the world (2010)

sorry, i'm just really lazy to think today so i borrowed this from wikipedia

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

In Toronto, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), the bass guitarist for the band "Sex Bob-omb", begins dating high schooler Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) despite the protests of his friends and bandmates. Scott meets a mysterious American girl, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who has been appearing in his dreams, and instantly falls in love with her - losing interest in Knives. While playing in a battle of the bands, Scott is attacked by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), who introduces himself as the first of Ramona's evil exes. Scott defeats Patel and learns from Ramona that, in order for them to date, he must defeat all seven of her evil exes.

After learning that popular actor and skateboarder Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), the second evil ex, is coming to Toronto to film a movie, Scott is forced to break up with Knives. Still in love with Scott, Knives attempts to win him back from Ramona. Scott defeats Lee by tricking him into performing a dangerous skateboard stunt which he fails to complete. Scott later encounters the third evil ex, Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), who is currently dating Scott's ex-girlfriend Natalie "Envy" Adams (Brie Larson). Todd initially overpowers Scott using his psychic vegan abilities, but is stripped of his powers by the Vegan Police (Thomas Jane and Clifton Collins, Jr.) after Scott tricks him into having coffee with half and half milk, allowing Scott to defeat him.

Scott begins to grow upset with Ramona over her dating history by the defeat of the fourth ex, Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), as he is afraid of fighting girls. During the second round of the battle of the bands, Sex Bob-omb faces off against the fifth and sixth evil exes, twin Katayanagi brothers Kyle (Keita Saito) and Ken (Shota Saito), earning Scott an extra life upon their defeat. During the battle, Scott sees Ramona together with her seventh and final evil ex, Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), who turns out to be Sex Bob-omb's sponsor, G-Man. Gideon offers the members of Sex Bob-omb a record deal and a chance to perform at his newly opened Chaos Theater. While the rest of the band signs the contract, Scott refuses to accept the offer and leaves the band. Shortly after, Ramona breaks up with Scott. Scott returns home to get a phone call from Gideon, inviting him to the Chaos Theater to show there are no hard feelings.

Scott enters the Chaos Theater and challenges Gideon to a fight, and professes his love for Ramona, gaining the "Power of Love" sword which he uses to fight Gideon. Gideon strikes Scott in mid-air, making him loose the sword. Knives also crashes the scene (and blocks another attack), to fight Ramona over Scott. Not able to take it anymore, Scott goes to break up the girls' fight, and admits that he cheated on them with each other. He is killed by Gideon before he can apologise. In Limbo, Scott talks to Ramona and they discuss the reasons for each other's actions. Ramona tells Scott that she broke up with Gideon because he ignored her during their relationship. While they were together however, Gideon had a mind-controlling microchip planted on the back of her neck. Scott realizes he still has an extra life, which he uses to escape limbo and returns to life at the moment in time where Gideon calls him. Scott re-enters the Chaos Theater. Scott challenges Gideon again, stating he is fighting for himself and gaining the "Power of Self-Respect" sword, which he uses to defeat the goons. The mid-air strike is repeated, and Scott strikes Gideon. With Gideon once again unconscious, Scott blocks Knives' attack on Ramona, and apologizes to both the girls. Gideon rises to fight Scott again and is defeated when Knives and Scott team up to beat him. Free from Gideon's control, Ramona prepares to leave. Knives accepts that Scott will not return her love and encourages him to chase after Ramona. He does, and the two agree to start their relationship anew.

alright, it was a really cool movie, never boring. i love the OST.

Online DFA Appointment

I suggest to start the day early if you're looking to renew your passport. if you're working, then it would be best to go to DFA during your rest day or whilst you're on leave because of the queue.  I woke up 5am (my sister 4:30am) and prepped up for our 10:30am appointment. The new DFA building is now located in paranaque, S&R building. We heard that, the traffic snarls in that area so just to be on the safe side we left early, the early the better. We personally picked 10:30am online since we felt that it's the best time, not too early and not too late. We were both a bit stressed out as there were quite a few buses bound to DFA (bus bound to DFA/mia-tambo 611) plying around in edsa/crossing area. Good thing we went to crossing early round 7am. The fare cost P22 from crossing to DFA.

Expect the unexpected..

The traffic flow was really light so we got there as early as 7:30am as far as I can recall. Dfa's new building isn't difficult to find because the bus will definitely stop once you’re there. There's also this very huge name outside the building that says s&r which houses dfa and it's very visible from afar so you won't get lost really. What are the landmarks? the 2nd petron gas station and mc donalds--it's literally across dfa's building. Because arrived very early, we then decided to have breakfast first in mcdo.

9am - we're already at the DFA office.
 Based on the blogs that we read, no need to fall in line if you set up your appointment online and just go straight to gate 3, it's different now. If you have a print out of your online application form, you need to go straight to gate 2.
Once you reached gate 2, there’ll be 2 lines—one for male & female.
Make sure before you fully enter the DFA office to present the print out copy of your appointment/schedule OR application form to the guard before you're allowed to get inside. Your bag will be checked as well.

Requirements first and foremost!

*Please don't forget to bring along photocopies of the ff.

-original passport
-photocopies of the 1st and last page of your passport, if there were stamps since you travelled before, just have page 2&3 included instead.
-your dfa appointment email confirmation
-your printed online application form!

Step 1

Present your application form to the appointment counter (do not fill it out or write anything yet) which is just to your right from the gate 2 entrance. The appointment people will stamp something in your form then write red check marks on them,  just fill out the ones with red check marks.  Don't touch those ones that the appointment people did not put any checkmarks obviously if you don't want to get scolded for not following instructions.


Step 2

Wait for your turn and have a seat on the chairs provided for (your seat is based on your appointment/scheduled). It took us roughly an hour there but don’t worry because the area has a canopy so you won’t feel the heat of the sun. Just bring a fan to cool you down in case you’re scheduled for the 11:30am appointment onwards.

Step 3

• Again, please don't forget to bring along photocopies of the ff.

-original passport
-photocopies of the 1st and last page of your passport, if there were stamps since you travelled before, just have page 2&3 included instead.
-your printed online application form!

• You'll be allowed to enter the airconditioned area once once your turn has come. This is where you will need to show up and present all your documents. That's why it's called 'appearance' because you just need to literally show up to attest that you're not an impostor XD

Step 4

It took us roughly an hour and a half (waiting for our turn to come amidst changing seats). Once you reached one of the counters/windows you will need to present the 3 documents i've mentioned on step 3.

• You will be asked to sign the application form (that's why you don't sign that part onset as it'll be done on this step) and asked how much you will be paying. Take this--Option a: P950 which will take 20 working days before your passport is released OR b: pay P1,200 for 10 working days. So i opted with the later of course.

• An official receipt will be issued to you and you may then proceed to the 2nd floor for payment. The lady in the appointment window will punch holes in your old passport by the way as an indication it's already cancelled.

Step 5

Payment, picture taking and shipping c/o LBC

• 2nd floor--pay for the passport and get your stub for the picture-taking que. Whilst waiting for your turn there would be people roaming around asking if you wish you passport shipped/delivered instead of picking it up yourself in dfa, the cost is fixed at P120 regardless where your location is. Then, this ready made receipt will be handed to you so proceed to the corner where LBC peeps will assist you out and confirm your shipping address. You’ll be given a print out of your delivery details including your official receipt number as well. Just wait grueling hours before you get you photo taken. My stub number was 1984 while my sister's 1928, see the gap in between? Why? Because she went straight to the cashier few minutes ahead of me.

Your mugshot err passport photo :D

• First off, don't forget to bring along all the documents i mentioned on step 3 again although this time around you should have your receipt and stub handy. After payment go to the spot where the sign reads ‘encoding’ to get you stub number by the way. Your stub will indicate how long you will need to wait before you get your photo taken. Just have a magazine, a book or an ipod handy while waiting for your turn because it WILL take a while. Some even took their laptops with them and dongle then surf the net while waiting. I tried their wifi but the signal was too weak.

• So it's your turn? Just remember that this will be your photo for the next 6 years so try to look good as much as possible and hopefully you get your photo taken on one of the booths with good lighting condition. Mine was ok though but my sister was really disappointed because she claimed her photo was really dim.

• Just a few reminders before you photo is taken:

-take off your earrings if any.
-your ears should be visible in the photo.
-be pensive but look relaxed (you won’t be asked to smile for the camera so don’t bother)

• It will take you roughly 5mins in the booth because aside from the picture taking thingy your now cancelled passport will be scanned, your details will be encoded and stored on their database. So, please make it a point to proofread them first before it's saved because if you don't that's your fault if some details were erroneously encoded.

• You will be asked to digitally affix your signature on this digital signature pad. They will digitally ask for both your left & right thumbprints. Afterwards, you're good to go and just wait for your passport to be couriered.

• The only document that will be left with you after the picture taking would be your LBC receipt and now old passport. All the rest of the documents will be scanned in your presence before your photo is taken and your details will be encoded as well right in your face so make sure to check all details entered by the encoder and assure they're 100% correct ayt?

T'was not really exhausting compared before that you need to endure the heat and all. It could’ve been faster if there weren't any gaps in between the entire process. I don't get it because the employees on the encoding/photo booths should have shifting break schedules so there shouldn't be any reason for the long wait. Geesh. Unless they encountered some system latencies.

Anyways, moving on we're glad it’s over and we decided to head off to moa (mall of asia) for some foodie time. Gadh, moa is really vast that you need to eat first before strolling around. I told my sister why not go there if you're not tired and you have all the time in the world to walk around. haiz.


End of day, It’s windy outside and my hair got really disheveled. We spent roughly P200 for the cabbie from moa to galleria in ortigas. I got my purple suitcase there for a hefty 2k while my sister bought her new vans slip on named ski girl doodle (vans outlet in galleria as well) for P2,298. It’s a replacement for her now worn out robot vans slip on. Good thing i have 2k worth of gift checks to splurge. I really love my new purple suitcase so i did not think twice although it's a bit expensive hehe. I actually don't mind spending as long as i like the stuff :)