Bucket List

I watched "The Bucket List" last Sunday evening. It was one tear-jerking, crazy funny movie that everyone has to see...

I'm so amazed with how the story was played-out. It all starts with Morgan Freeman's character, Carter, who was diagnosed with cancer and was brought into Mr. Edward Cole's (Jack Nicholson) hospital. When Edward was diagnosed with cancer as well, he was made to bunk in with Carter due to his own policies about hospital rooms having 2 patients each. What followed was a barrage of disturbing chemo-related stories and them weakening with every day. One day, Carter was scribbling his bucket list - a list of things that he wanted to do before he kicked the bucket. It's an amazing and beautiful story where Carter sees the world with a friend, his profession being an auto-mechanic with a brain that could beat Jeopardy contestants in a heartbeat while Edward finances everything that they have written on the bucket list.

Towards the latter part, Edward gets a letter from Carter

Dear Edward,

I've gone back and forth the last few days trying to decide whether or not I should even write this. In the end, I realized I would regret it if I didn't, so here it goes. I know the last time we saw each other, we weren't exactly hitting the sweetest notes-certain wasn't the way I wanted the trip to end. I suppose I'm responsible and for that, I'm sorry. But in all honestly, if I had the chance, I'd do it again. Virginia said I left a stranger and came back a husband; I owe that to you. There's no way I can repay you for all you've done for me, so rather than try, I'm just going to ask you to do something else for me-find the joy in your life. You once said you're not everyone. Well, that's true-you're certainly not everyone, but everyone is everyone. My pastor always says our lives are streams flowing into the same river towards whatever heaven lies in the mist beyond the falls. Find the joy in your life, Edward. My dear friend, close your eyes and let the waters take you home.

One of my favorite scenes was the eulogy for Carter where Edward was crying and he strikes "Help a complete stranger" off the list when he realized that Carter helped him more than he could ever imagine.

Good afternoon. My name is Edward Cole. I don't know what most people say at these occasions because in all honesty, I've tried to avoid them. The simplest thing is I loved him and I miss him. Carter and I saw the world together, which is amazing when you think that only three months ago we were complete strangers. I hope that it doesn't sound selfish of me, but the last months of his life were the best months of mine. He saved my life, and he knew it before I did. I'm deeply proud that this man found it worth his while to know me. In the end, I think it's safe to say that we brought some joy to one another's lives, so one day, when I go to some final resting place, if I happen to wake up next to a certain wall with a gate, I hope that Carter's there to vouch for me and show me the ropes on the other side.

It also stars Sean Hayes as "Tom", Edward's assistant and butler who is actually named Matthew but was renamed by Edward only because Matthew seems too biblical. 5 stars from me for the funny, sad and deeply moving movie.

Girl Meets Reality

A funny clip from Will and Grace reminded me of this song. Grace's husband Leo leaves New York for business. It's pretty amusing because she pops on her video recorder and sings a song for her hubby. Comically speaking, it's one pretty funny idea.

I can't really imagine singing a song on a video. I have done it once. And I sent it to him. I doubt that I'll have enough gumption and courage to actually post it online. Nonetheless, I'm talking about this because he's about to leave again.

Earlier, whilst waiting for a cab, I can't help but be a little misty-eyed. Why does a great day have to end? I know that I have been "hogging" him the whole time, nonetheless, I wish that he will actually stay longer. I sincerely wish that the remaining week of his visit will run incredibly slowly. If I wait for him to come back, it would be 2010.

I know this seems like word vomit, but I am feeling mixed about this. I wish he can stay and I know that he has to go. I know he has to work and take care of his business there and all I wish for is for him to be in my arms. Everyday that he was away, what kept me alive and waiting was the idea that he will be back and will be in my arms again. It seems like everyday is a battle to stay sane from missing him and from so much loneliness. When he left last time, I cried for a whole week. No one knew. I didn't want people to find out that I was that affected. Now, I vowed that I will never cry. I will not cry. I will be stronger and better and will draw from my memory everything that we did together - the trips to the mall, the making-out, the movies we've watched, the food we've shared (guess what, I think we're at that level where we can pick out food from each others' plate), and the laughter that really makes me feel that the intimacy we share is real. Laughing with each other and at each other is incredibly wonderful. I just wish it can go on like this forever.

Enchanted

How does she know that you love her? It's funny cos the first time I saw this, I was with House. Me being Wilson, trying to be a good friend. It's showing on HBO as I type this entry. It's weird because I've never been a fan of either Amy Adams or McDreamy Patrick Dempsey but this film has made me realize a lot of the things I love about falling in love, about romance and reality. It's this film about a princess in an enchanted land who gets thrown into a well by an evil queen where she ends up in New York and in the home of a single dad and his daughter, Morgan.

When you think about it, romance is kind of like that. It is this enchanted and pristine princess that gets thrown in a well and ends up in the harsh reality of New York. In my case, it's the urban hub of Ortigas. Everyone has problems. Why sacrifice the good times for the bad? And so I end this entry with the one song that made me cry from this movie. Something that I feel everyday...

A life goes by
Romantic dreams must die
So I bid mine goodbye
And never knew
So close was waiting
Waiting here with you
And now, forever, I know
All that I want is to hold you
So close
We're so close to reaching
That famous happy ending
Almost believing
This one's not pretend
Let's go on dreaming
Though we know we are
So close
So close, and still
So far...

Of Series and Movies

I passed up the chance to leave for Batangas today. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-social at all. I intended to stay at home and just work on the tasks I was supposed to do today. I am guessing that somehow, I am turning into a workaholic freak that has no life. I sincerely live for the weekends. The charming aroma of my very own coffee brewing in my kitchen, armed with my laptop for blogging, and a whole season of "CSI" or "Chuck" on the DVD player is just amazing to me. This is weekend R&R for me. I don't want to be in a cramped mall, shopping for clothes that no one cares about anyhow. And yes, gym is not an option as well. I don't really intend to spend 900PhP per session on boxing. My shoulders have been hurting since I tried lifting the water bottle to refill the dispenser at home. Last time I'll be doing some heavy lifting! Haha!

I still have Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" Season 1 which I haven't seen competely. I remember checking if the DVD was playing. Thankfully, it was. I still have yet to finish "Felicity" and "One Tree Hill" which I love so much. I love series more. There's coninuity. It's so sad to see the ending credits in films. I was just watching "Music and Lyrics" earlier and I found out that when I started seeing the end credits roll, I started feeling a bit melancholic.

There is something so bittersweet about ending something that worked for you for a few minutes. And I guess I am indeed in love with Drew Barrymore. It's the combination of a feel good-movie and a feel-good song. I followed it with "Open Season" which had Gray Sinise's voice as the hunter Shaw. It seriously didn't seem like him at all!

Ok, poor rabbits... but it was pretty darn good. I knew animations were not my thing, especially ones that uses CGI but nonetheless, this was actually pretty good.

The only thing with movies is that it kinda ends quickly. It sucks cos I seriously want to have more exposure to the characters. In series, you tend to see how a character reacts to everything that happens. I guess that's why TV actors find it hard to find new roles and break away from what people already perceive them to be. It's just harder to break way from the things you've been used to doing too, I'm guessing.

Work has been a bit stressful lately. And I seriously want to break free of this mundane routine I dance to every day. I am guessing that when Matt finally gets back to work, we'll be able to work on the things I need to work on sans the other manager's bickering.

Blast from the Past

Watched this yesterday. I remember Jeoff and I talking about it a few days before he left for Canada. He was watching it over at his place while I was watching it over at mine. I remember laughing about it over the phone and chuckling at the wallpaper they had in the fall-out shelter and their new house. For some reason, his family and my family had the same wallpaper when we were still living in Taguig.

It was funny how I miss talking about movies and laughing about nothing and everything with him.

When he gets here, I promise to watch movies and create new memories we can talk about over the phone. And well, I'll definitely file for my IPG now... Maybe I should start studying soon.

I was talking with Aileen the other day and she mentioned that she chose not to take her Masters Degree in AIMS because she thought about how expensive it would be for her hubby to shoulder. I keep thinking, women do tend to change their perspective about their careers when they get married. I have always wanted to be a Training Director. Maybe I won't ever get to be one in Merlin. The highest post I can probably obtain is Training Manager but I'll take what I can take. But I know what I want, as I've always known.

Myles once told me that the future is how I make it. I want to make it with the one who holds my heart.

Sick Day

I think I have pneumonia. Tomorrow, when I go to the doctor, and find out that I don't have pneumonia, we will then confirm that I am a hypochondriac.
I think it's a blessing in disguise, actually. I've been having the itchy fingers as of late. I haven't had enough time to update and prettify my blog and here we are now. Somehow, I think it's been deafening being alone. Alone in my room, alone in the house... It sucks but I think I had a lot of fun coughing myself to sleep.
I got to watch a lot of fun movies. I had a CSI marathon early in the morning, when I woke up. After which, I got some sleep again. Come lunch time, I woke up and ate some fish. Awww, fish! I just love the way fish cooks in white sauce, with mushroom and cloud ears. You can't have enough of a good thing... Anyhow, onwards to more CSI. Waking up at around 9PM after a good sleep, I was able to watch "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry". Adam Sandler is just so hilarious. I almost lost my breath watching him and Kevin James go through married life.
I also got to watch Zohan and Meet Dave. I'm planning to watch "Blades of Glory" later when I get extremely bored. Thank goodness for fake DVDs. I know, it's shameful to admit that I buy these things, but hey, I think I get great entertainment value off of them.
I'm planning to go to the doctor tomorrow. Hope it will be good. I wish I don't have pleural effusion or something scary like that.

Me Time

Spending my weekend here at home kind of makes me feel slightly alone. I know I am bound to have something to do later. I am pretty sure that Sunday isn't all about Facebook and dozens of Nick cartoons, but while I am at it, let me tell you why I am enjoying my little alone time.

• I woke up at around 9PM. Had a little chat with Leo, a friend from the office. Too bad he's all alone there.
• Took a box of microwavable popcorn, butter flavored. Had a fun time just watching the poppers pop. Melted some butter in the microwave and threw in a dash of hot pepper sauce to the butter. And threw it into the popcorn. OMG! Joygasmic!
• Watched a marathon of Spongebob Squarepants and CatDog while I was munching down on the popcorn. Heaven!
• Took a shower. Used the chocolate/caramel shower gel. I came out of the shower incredibly refreshed. Felt so good after that, I even put on lotion! My skin feels a little better. Re-applied the wrinkle cream on my face and on my "crows' feet". Argh! I'm getting really old. It's around 2am.
• Got myself a good cup of coffee from the brewer. Added a dash of flavoring. Yum! It was vanilla and a little cocoa. Haaay! I drank that and puffed myself a good stick of lights. Absolute heaven!
• I tried a little HBO. Chanced upon Robert Downey Jr. and in this weird flick that looked like it was rotoscoped in CGI. Wow, I was hooked. It was "A Scanner Darkly", loved it! It was mainly a weird sci-fi kind of movie, but I loved how Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves were in that movie. They seem so great together and the twist was just surprising, y'all should see it!
• It was 4:30am when I finished the movie and I decided to bake the remaining fish from dinner. I couldn't resist! It was bangus (milkfish) with the skin crisped to its perfect form, and the flesh dipped in soy sauce and lime! OMG! I wasn't gonna resist that for the world! Yum!
• I am currently eating that wonderful dish while I'm typing. :) Don't ask me how... LOL!
• I will later pour myself another cup of brew. And smoke a stick...

I am living a good life. :)
Yup and I'm grateful I didn't go anywhere tonight!

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Watched this movie like twice or thrice this whole week. I almost fell off my couch laughing so hard at how Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen have these sexually-charged scenes.

The story is an original but is very simple.

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) grew up in a hick town that loves NASCAR. He was born out of wedlock to a very strict momma (Jane Lynch) and a deadbeat pot-dealing pops (Gary Cole). Thanks to a career orientation day at school where his pops, high on drugs, showed up and said "If you're not the first, you're last", Ricky patterned his life after what he thought was his dad's ambition for him. From his humble beginnings as a race car pit crew for Wonder Bread, he became NASCAR's best driver. His best friend, Cal (John C. Reilly) coined the term "Shake and Bake" (yes, they rhyme and they're both verbs. They completely rocked the racing world til Jean Girard Sacha Baron-Cohen), a gay Frenchman race car driver, completely threw him off track, setting off some psychological fear of speed, fire and racing in Ricky.

The plot thickens as Ricky fights to regain his self-esteem and his confidence.

The movie has its amazingly weird moments. There was a moment when race track owner Larry Dennit Jr. (Greg Germann) was in the VIP box with his wife (Molly Shannon), she drunkenly sits slumped in her chair and confesses that she loves the vibrations running up her skirt in the race track. There was also a time when Girard was having coffee with Mos Def and Elvis Costello and Ricky confronted him. He acknowledged that he only wanted to tame komodo dragons and have them perform Hamlet. Ricky's sons were also pretty weird - very bad hell raisers til their grandmomma taught them a lesson about good manners.

Ricky's dad gave him life lessons about speed as well as he recovers from his self-esteem issues. Being thrown out of Applebee's for complaining about onions on his steak and having a cougar lunge at Ricky to teach him about fear and driving.

The movie has its romantic angles as well. Apart from the very well-publicized kiss between Girard and Ricky, the movie also boasts of two sassy chicks (Amy Adams of Enchanted and Leslie Bibb of TV Series Popular). Apparently, Ricky likes it when his lady nags him to the ends of the earth.

It was a heart-warming comedy about learning life lessons and learning that winning isn't everything in life wrapped in a twisted and wickedly funny movie that is not meant for a family to enjoy.

One added bonus: Watch this movie three times in a row and I guarantee that you'll be talking like a hick for the rest of the day!

The Fast and the Furious - Tokyo Drift

Watched the movie, "The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift" the other night. I almost fell out of my chair. OMG! It was amazing, amazing, amazing!

While I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Lucas Black nor Bow Wow, I have to say that it was a very great experience. I liked the cool cars and how amazing the drifting scenes were. It took a lot of effort for me not to beg my brother to give me a fake DVD copy of that. I wanted to watch it over and over again.

My favorite scene was pretty anti-climactic. It was when Han Vielside Mazda (The orange-black car)crashed into DK's Vielside Nissan Fairlady (The black car)! It was pretty intense and the effects were priceless!

The story begins with Sean being mercilessly thrown to Japan, because of the racing antics he pulled in the US. He had to live with his dad, a marine officer. He automatically plunged himself in trouble with a successful businessman who believed in his racing abilities named Han (Sung Kang) who had a partner named DK, short for Drift King (Brian Tee). Racing for Han, he perfected the art and the skill of drifting and fought to avenge Han's death.

Han's death (the crash I described above) was because DK found out that he was being cheated off some money by Han who had side deals all the while that DK was running the business Yakuza style. DK's uncle, a Yakuza gang lord, discovered Han's shady deals and shamed DK by confronting him in his own den.

The story deals mainly with Japanese culture. You see a lot of Japanese men crying, DK in particular, when he was confronted due to the bad business deals of Han, and one of DK's henchmen who lost a drifting race to Sean. You see perfectionism in the face of major adversity.

You also see how one man struggles to fight for his honor, which essentially is what the Fast and the Furious movie franchise was all about.

I honestly think Paul Walker would have done a much better job as Sean but hey, I guess wrecking way too many cars would cost a lot of money so they went with the Friday Night Light's Lucas Black.

An added bonus: Vin Diesel appears to reprise his role in the previous prequels as Dominic, admitting that he was one of the few people Han has dealt with before.

Loving Drew

I absolutely love this movie! And I absolutely love Drew Barrymore! She totally rocks!