Si Andong Sabungero nag-Maong nagkaroon ng Anino

Corny! Hahahaha! But that’s to sum all the 4 short films I saw at Independence Film Festival at Shang today. I was a little undecided with the short films coz it was advertised on the paper last Sunday that they’ll show Adolf Alix’s Manila at 230pm and when we got there its not! Liar! Hehehe! But anyway, I would have watched Independencia but I have to go to work, darn! So we settled for the short films.
The first one was Andong by Milo. I don’t know if that’s a screen name or what. But the its my favorite among the four. I would have ranked Anino as my first fave but the kid who played Andong is just so lovely and cute. Not to mention he’s good. Really good for a kid. The story basically is about a kid who always goes to the neighbors house to watch television. He would sometimes drag his little brother so jump from neighbor to neighbor and watch TV, making his mom mad. One time he went to a TV repair owner and overheard the “Manong” and a guy talking about a raffle ticket he’s selling, the grand prize is a colored TV. Andong’s got excited, went home and harassed the mom everyday to give him 20 pesos (bente) so he can buy a ticket for the raffle. I love the harassing part, the lines are so real and the kid’s face is so admirable.

Andong: “Nay, sige na, penge ng bente pesos. Para bente pesos lang eh. Para manalo tayo ng colored TV, diba gusto mo ng colored TV?”
Nanay: “tigilan mo ko Andong, bat pag bumili ka ban g ticket mananalo ka ng TV?!”
Andong: “Bat pag dib a tayo bumili mananalo ba tayo ng TV?”

Sabongero is not bad, but my problem is the whole movie is in Cebuano. Don’t get me wrong, they probably did it to make the movie authentic, I’m not saying Cebuano’s are Sabungero. But for some reason, I don’t think the English subtitles are not exactly the same as the lines said by the characters. I don’t like to go into details coz I’m lazy eh. Hahaha! Basically he’s a sabungero who’d rather buy chicken feeds/tablets than his baby’s milk/diaper. One time he stood up his wife (who’s waiting for him so they can go to the grocery together) just so he can go to a cockpit arena and play sabong. He went home that night and was surprised that the wife found a way to have something for dinner. While he’s eating dinner he asked the wife where she got money to buy dinner, the wife said, “Buti na lang naalala ko yung manok mo!” the husband got mad and hit the wife, when he went outside to throw up, he saw his “manok” inside the cage. Then the wife went up to him, threw him a can of biscuit that contained money which the husband keeps for his rooster. The end.

Manong Maong is a total waste of time. Hahaha! That’s all I can say

Anino by Raymon Red. When I saw the director during the opening credits I know that I’m up for something interesting… and good. And I’m right. From the cast to the story to the music. Its like a good salad. It taste good and you know its good for you.

There you go. My two cents worth. Hopefully I get to see Manila in the future

sumo-sam

My room mate and I went to Shangrila-Plaza Mall today. We wanted to try something different and also we want to watch the Indie Film Fest. We decided to have lunch while waiting for the film. It’s my room mate’s first time at The Ledge. The place is cozy. The waiters in each restaurants are inviting but not the makulit type. We decided to try Sumo-Sam, since we’re famished and it’s the nearest to the cinema. When we entered the restaurant, no one was there to greet us or show us a table. I walked outside and the waiters are scrumming at one corner, hell knows what they’re talking about. I asked one lady if they still have a table for two and they showed us to a table, take this, beside a family. There are 4 vacant huge tables inside and 2 outside and they decided to put us beside another table. I don’t mind sharing, but if there are vacant seat, why share. So anyway, we asked if we can just sit outside.
After we ordered, I was observing the waiters if anyone would notice that we still don’t have utensils on our table. But of course, none did. They were too busy serving the 2 hotties on the other table, man! Wearing short shorts in public places really helps I guess. After 48,000 years, our orders finally arrived. We had the bacon asparagus, beef and chicken. Our food has been on our table and we still don’t have utensils and drinks. We had to ask 3 times before it finally arrived.
The food is heavenly. Serving is huge also, good for sharing. The place is clean. But the point of all this really is the customer service. They have the worse kind. The waiters are giving you the impatient look while you’re looking at the menu, I saw one while she’s waiting for order from another table, why be a waitress if you’re impatient. They’re not sensitive to the customer’s needs. Why do you need to ask for utensils 3 times before you get one. And the bill. My God! We waited for 20 minutes for the change. My room mate had the impression that they don’t want to give us the change coz it took that long. And its not even peak hours. We had lunch at 2pm. Tsk tsk tsk ! the experience is really bitter sweet. The food is great. But the waiters are abysmal.

After several attempts to watch it, we finally did. I’m not a big fan of book adaptation because it never satisfy my imagination…wild kasi imagination ko. Hahaha! Although I’m not expecting much form this movie coz of all the hype, plus I don’t like Tom Hanks playing the lead, I don’t feel the symbologist in him. But anyway the reason I want to watch this is because I read the book 3 times and I enjoyed it (obvious ba), I like it better than Da Vinci Code.
A few points though,
- Ewan as the Carmerlengo? The Carmerlengo’s supposed to be this young priest who has kind eyes and is very soft spoken, he is after all the “right” hand of the Pope. I don’t think he fits the description. Although he did justice to it, maybe the character will eventually grow in you. But the accent… when he’s doing the God vs. Science monologue, I still hear the distinct Ewan accent that in the middle of the monologue I’m waiting for him to chant, “the hills are alive with the sound of music” hahaha!
- where the hell is Max Kohler? Among the characters, he’s the one I’m looking forward to the most. He’s the bionic man! With all the machines hooked in him and the gadgets attached to his wheelchair. And he carries the twist in the end. Although the movie version is fine, I feel like sayang yung character sa book.
- the Hassasin is not scary at all. He looks like an ordinary guy. The book described him as soulless and daunting. In the movie he looks like a boy next door.
- the ending is different. Although I think they put the ending this way for the benefit of the Catholic audience.
- the view of the Rome is amazing. All the churches, the streets, the history. It makes me want to go there. Although I heard that they didn’t allow them to shoot inside the Vatican City but still, the accuracy of the churches (base on the book) is remarkable. I read somewhere that the “path of Illumination” is not being considered as part of the tourist attraction in Rome.

** all in all the movie is decent. Accurate at some point. Its 135minutes long but it feels short, according to Jessica Zafra its like watching an episode of Amazing Race, only this time instead of Roadblocks they got dead cardinals. I’ll watch it again if ever.

part 1

Decisions are hard to make. You have to weigh certain pro’s and cons before finally deciding. Sometimes just flipping a coin is enough, just to finally choose. I’ve had my share of bad decisions. But I want to think of them as learning curves, although I can’t say I learned at all. Since last Sunday I’ve been back and forth about something. My mind’s battling over my numb heart. I knelt before the Lord over this and asked Him to take over because I can’t do this alone.
During the retreat, the pastor asked us what’s our most priced possession. A lot of people had materials things on their mind, but I don’t. then Pastor Louie said, are you willing to give up your priced possession if God asked you to? We’re only talking material things. God asked Abraham for his Isaac (his son) and Abraham obeyed, without faltering. Pastor Louie then again asked us, “are you willing to give up your Isaac if God asked you?”
It hurts to bad, but I did. I gave up my Isaac. Its probably the most difficult decision I ever made but I did. I’ve hurt people but I know God would heal them. It’s too sudden, but at some point I know this is the perfect time. I’m still hurting but I believe that I’m also healing at the same time. And I’m also sure, that my battle is just starting. After my Isaac, I should be like Lot’s wife… to be continued

reunion

2 weeks ago I got a message from one of my best friends that she’ll have a flight here in Manila and she would like to meet up. She’ll only be here for around 5 hours so I gave her my number for her to call me as soon as she lands. Come Saturday, her fly date, I decided to stroll around Rob Place Manila so in case she’ll call I can go to her hotel (Diamond Hotel) right away. When I searched for flights of KA to Manila there’s only one, arrives at 445 PM, I arrived at Rob around 5pm, I walked around, shopped a bit and I realized its almost 630pm and I still haven’t heard from Joanne, I told myself maybe she’s really busy and don’t have enough time, but I’d really love to see her. I decided to stay until 7pm and wait. 635…645…650…Man! time can really be slow… then 655pm, my phone rang (si Lord talaga!)… a really high pitched woman greeted me and keeps screaming “kumusta naman?” I had no ides who she is, but when she started laughing, I realized it my bestfriend calling. She’s 1 floor away from where I was standing, apparently she’s got lots of errands and started it first before calling me. When I told her I’ve been waiting in Rob since 5pm she said she’s also in Rob since 5, doing grocery shopping.
We talked forever, it seems like we’re high school again. She changed a lot. Taba mo Jho! Hahaha! She’s married with a son now. We talked about the old times, how she plans to have a church wedding in December in Olongapo. We called some of our friends. I watched her get ready and I saw her in her flight uniform, hehehe! We grew up. All 4 of us grew up really nice. and even if we changed a lot, But she’s still my tambourine partner who cries to me when Amelie accused her of cheating. Hahaha! It may be 4-5 years since we last saw each other, and it looks like I’ll be the last one to get married among the 4 of us (as assumed by others) but I will always be the tall geek who bought the wrong set of ribbons for the tambourine and I’ll still come to your rescue and harass Amelie even if you really did cheat on the exam. Hehehe!

tale of a mall

Yesterday, my room mate and I decided to go for a little adventure. Since we’re so tired of looking at SM north and Trinoma, we decided to check out SM Marikina. Although im not really anticipating anything special, but a change of environment would be nice. So we went there. I passed by Marikina Riverbanks first coz I need to meet my dad’s friend and I waited for my room mate there. I asked my dad’s friend how do I go SM Marikina from Riverbanks, she said she have no idea. But she said you can walk going there, she even mentioned to follow the flock of people at the back of Riverbanks and I’ll surely find my way. So I followed her advice. When my companion arrived, we decided to walk. And boy, that’s some bad decision. Ayay-yay! Paging Mayor Fernando! Have mercy on Marikina people. When we went outside Riverbank’s roof, we can see SM already, its just across the Marikina river. But of course, we cannot cross the river. And there’s no bridge as well, of all the footbridge that Bayani put in Edsa, he forgot to put one on his own hometown. We were following several people walking along the sidewalk of Riverbanks, but when we reached the end, we’re nowhere to go. We reached the end, it’s the highway already. Pinky asked one of the ladies who’s walking with us…
Pinkie: “Miss, pano pumunta ng SM?”
Miss: “ay akyat kayo dun sa hagdan tas tawid kayo dun”
(she’s pointing somewhere along the highway, we cant really see any bridge so we verified)
Pinkie: “duon po?” (also pointing to the same direction)
Miss: “oo, halikayo, sabay kayo sakin”
We walked with Ate and after about a hundred steps away from where we asked her, there’s a small tunnel and on the right side she pointed…
Miss: “ayan, akyat kayo sa hagdan na yan tas tawid kayo?”
When she said “tawid” she didn’t mean the normal crossing the street on pedestrian. We have to walk beside the freakin highway!!! And im talking about 5-6 lane highway. Imagine the Ortigas flyover, that kind of highway! There’s no way im gonna go up there. Its suicide! We tried hailing for a cab, but after a few minutes, we realized we’re hopeless, so we started praying and walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Hehehe! But seriously, it felt like that. I cant look to my left because I’m afraid of heights, I cant look to my right coz I’m afraid one of the cars will hit me. Its so embarrassing. Its frightening. Its tiring (its about 150meters you know). And the sun’s burning my skin.
When we reached SM, im not sure if I’m still in the mood to look around. Good thing I remember that I really need to buy a flat iron that day. Pinky said the theater’s nice so we checked it out. We watched Underworld, the cinema’s not so bad actually. Compare to other SM Cinema, this one’s way better. They have long couch as waiting area for those who came in early. The staff’s so nice. For me, the best part in the movie house is the fact that they have enough leg room for tall people, like me. So i dont have to spend the entire movie with brusied knees coz it keeps hitting the back of the seat in front of me.
After the movie we strolled around for a place to eat. And there’s a lot to choose from, actually the whole ground floor is filled with restaurants, literally from end to end. They have TOSH (whoo-hoo!), I would have gave in, but I was craving for Teriyaki Boy’s Kani Salad. When we got there though they have their stupid mascot outside, and if you know me well enough you know how I would react on that. But I was able to get my Kani Salad to go, then we went to Judy Ann’s Chicken Inasal Bacolod (ano daw?). Come 7pm, there were fireworks outside the mall, I’m thinking coz its Chinese New Year. I was entertained, at least I was able to watch Fireworks Display, I missed the big one last new year coz of work. We decided to call it a night around 830pm.
I’m not sure if I wanna come back to SM Marikina, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. Its just too much effort.

my weekend

This has been a really looooong weekend. And I mean long. My sister and I went home Saturday coz its her birthday. While we were on the bus I got a call from my cousin Krisca, she told us my mom took Nanay, my grandma (her mom) to the hospital. She had a seizure apparently and was unresponsive for a while. My sis and I panicked but knowing Nanay we shrugged it off. Nanay has a tendency to overact , especially when it comes to her health. She doesn’t like it when we’re giving more attention to Daddy (my lolo-her husband) than her. Especially when Daddy was diagnosed with “the Big C” a year ago. Whenever Dad would go to the hospital for his medicine, Nanay will come to Aunt Jean a few days later complaining of almost everything (headache, colds, hypertension, etc). Sometimes my Mom and Aunt would take her to the Doctor and the other times they’d just give her the usual meds (Ninoy or the one with 3 heads). Anyway, so when we arrived at home Saturday, Krisca took care of the cooking for my sister’s birthday. I called my mom to check on Nanay and she said she’s better, although she’ll stay in the hospital for her CT-scan tomorrow. Mom arrived around 11pm. She said Nanay is unconscious. She’s supposed to go into the Intensive Care but there aren’t enough space (yeah, our city has a very small hospital). Mom looked tired, told her to go to bed coz we have to go to church the next day.
Sunday morning we went to church. During the service they got a call from Nanay’s Caregiver, they’re prepping her for CT scan, I asked my mom if she want me to come but she said I have to go home after church and take care of Daddy.
After church we went home and my cousin Lhen and I planned to go to the hospital around 2pm. My sister and I took a nap, I keep dialing my mom’s number coz I cant sleep. Even my cousin who’s on prayer and fasting text me and said Nanay’s face keeps flashing in her head while praying. I prayed, I asked for peace. When I opened my eyes I saw Krisca’s text…
“Ate, wala na si Nanay”
With my sis and 2 cousins, all 4 of us ran to the hospital so we can at least see Nanay before the Funeral Service People take her. We ran into them at the exit of the hospital, Ate Mai asked the guy carrying the gurney if they can open the sheet so we can see Nanay. There she was. I held her hands, i’m not crying. I cant cry. My mom’s sobbing already, I cant let her see me cry. I rode in the van with Nanay’s body and my mom and aunt talked to the Funeral Service people to arrange the wake and interment. All of us are completely clueless when it comes to this. We never had anyone in our extended family die before. This will be the first. We had to go back and forth for the clothes she’ll wear and the casket is also another issue. We waited till she’s done then people started coming. My cousins and I are in charge of all the errands, and our parents are in charge of talking to the people since they know most of them. We’re just called to make “mano”. My mom wont go home, she finally agreed at around 5am.
Then I have to go back to manila to file for my bereavement leave and go back tomorrow to help prepare for the interment on Thursday. That’s my weekend, how’s yours?

seriously?!

I had a harsh falling out with my supervisor last Thursday. I was dreading this Monday because I know that at some point, I have to face her and talk to her about what happened the prior week. I was cruel to her I know. I said things that I shouldn’t have said. Hurtful things. Things I didn’t imagine myself saying to another person. I don’t know what got into me. I got scared of my own self. But when we talked during the beginning of the shift I was surprised with my attitude. I prepared a speech for her to justify my behavior. But when I started talking, its all gone, instead of justifying my behavior, I took full responsibility of what happened. I told her Im very much aware that I hurt her and I wish I can take it back but I can’t. I even said if I can do things all over again I know that I’ll say the exact same things, because that’s how I felt that time. After 30 minutes of talking, we wrapped it up. Its all water under the bridge. I know that’s gonna go in my file although she didn’t write me for that. But it’ll affect my status. Our relationship, nah… we’re not that close anyway. Hahaha! Although I feel for her. She doesn’t deserve it (well maybe she deserve some of it. :P) but still. I know she wouldn’t expect it from me. I’m sorry Fides. I know I disappoint you today. But I really am sorry.

*** on the lighter side. After 3 purchase of Grey’s Anatomy DVD, finally I was able to finish Season 4. its not as exciting as the previous season, I miss Burke. I miss Addison. feel like they rushed into the finale (the Writer’s Strike really affect them. Boo-hoo!) although I love Dr. Erica Hahn. But what shocked me the most is Callie and Hahn. Seriously? What do you guys think?