Saturday, March 31, 2007
c/o jayvee
i mean... wow.
photoshop will never be the same again.
and i love how you just have to spread your hands, and the image zooms in *goose bumps*
and multiple video streaming. grabe.
// 2:33 PM
Tuesday, March 27, 2007woooohoooo, pirates of the carribean trailer out!
supppppperrrrrr excited! ye, i know i know, i have to watch 300 first! and bridge to terabithia! but... i have no money!!! (must resort to cousin manipulating tactics..)
anyhooo, here's a pic of me when i was a weeee baby.
i remember yesterday, the world was so young....
don't be fooled by the cuteness and innocence! as i remember at that time, i could kick VERY WELL! :) right, mengs?
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today had a very random BUT fun moment. for one hour, my friend mark gave me a very surreal destressor... a ride at the back of his harley davidson motorbike!!!!
i was reading my nursing books when he came over, said he was free at 3, and wondered if i'd be free by then for a ride. "on your bike?!?!", i say incredously. of course i jumped at the chance, and i didn't know it was going to take an hour, but really, who was bothering about time when you got the open road in front of you, and you are just busy taking in the wind, the speed, the warmth of the sun, the freedom with your arms just spread out (yup, i wasn't holding onto him), and sometimes the smell of manure from cows...
(wait.. what?!?!! *ye, i had a whiff of some. we were traveling on lancaster backroads with some amish farms, what ya expect?!)
OTHERWISE, the ride was awesome! no wonder these biker dudes/dudettes have an entirely different perspective of life. they're laid back, they're real, they're more about the journey than the destination.
here are some pics of the bike (next time, i'll bring my camera. sorry, told u it was random!).
truth is, i had a blast. it was like being on a really loooooong rollercoaster ride, and there were many points i'd laugh hysterically just for the sheer fun of it. i'd wave enthusiastically to most of the motorists (they wave back), and for every biker that we would pass by, i'd flash a V sign (mark told me it meant victory). you could say i was his 'victory flasher' for the time being :P
couldn't believe an hour flew by... but of course, it's always like that when you're having fun.
then it was back to school, to reality... i hit the books yet again to study on catheterization... YEAH... sigh.
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i'd like to share more pics. here are some that i took when my aunt got some free skybox seats at our local baseball stadium. it was really last minute, 2 hours before the game they give it to me, and i called everyone i knew. first 2 calls made through, and they were real baseball fans, and were berating me for not telling them earlier. most of the rest were voice messages or no answer...
i was able to find one guy who went with me.
they are really good seats, i have to tell you. you'd hear the sweet thunk of the baseball every time, and you get to see the entire field. that night, there were almost 2 fights, too.
that's my food..
and there's the people up with us... (wonder what that guy is looking up at the sky?)
a view of the home base and batter... "heeeeeey batteh batteh batteh..."
and one shot where a fight almost broke out.
too bad my friend was not much of a baseball fan so much (i was more excited about the game, having played softball before). anyway, it was really nice watching a live game at good seat. i've already been to basketball games... so now, i wonder what it would feel like on a FOOTBALL stadium....
HMMM........
1 comments // 6:40 PM
Saturday, March 17, 2007... if i MUST get a room divider, i hope to get something along the lines of these:
sigh.. if only they used one image (instead of 3) for consistency. it still looks good though.
doesn't cover much, but it'll show my nursing books nicely :) wait, got too much books!.. i think i need 3 more of these then. drat!
this covers more space, and the lines aren't boring! kinda low though. 4ft high?
ASIAN...... bamboooooooo... must have...
well, it's functional, at least.
(photos courtesy of iroomdividers.com, furniture2yourdoor.com.)
Labels: eyecandy
0 comments // 3:31 PM
Friday, March 16, 2007ARE YOU SERIOUSLY KIDDING ME?!?!
yesterday was a glorious 74F, now we're back to 20?!? with HAIL/SNOW!?!?
but there you go folks. weather here in lancaster just dropped, no, PLUNGED into the cold front. i'm battling ice falling onto my car, my head, my face (and if it hits you on the right spot, it STINGS!). i'm used to the driving in the snow now, in that i can maneuver properly (i think) when i sense something wrong. thank goodness i still have my snow tires attached (i was thinking of removing them yesterday!).
anyhoo, here's the scoop of what's going on here:
here's what greeted me on the floor...
and on my car's windshield...
looks like snow, but they're ICE! you know, the kind you get when you crush ice.
at 9am, it was still ok. i dunno if you can see/hear this video (and if the video does show up, i dunno if you can actually see them), but hail is falling. i could see them bounce around as they hit my hood.
but at 2pm (sorry, no pic), the land was covered with snow/ice. it was like we were in winter again.
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UPDATE: anyway, it looks like i can UPLOAD my own videos! wooohooooo! isn't that exciting?... um, hello?
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UPDATE 2: this cold weather... all this indoor activity... makes me want to crave for outdoor stuff... such as...
manong, pabili po ng fishball...
kuya kuya! 3 isaw po! (isaw = pig intestines; it's good! just 'sauce' it right)
ale!!!! naku, ano pangalan nung P5 na burger nyo! basta, yun!!!
(what IS the name of that P5 burger?)
** some photos courtesy of mysarisaristore.
Labels: lancaster
// 12:25 PM
Tuesday, March 13, 2007soooooooo, i guess i'm really moving out then.
i'm not really into revealing a lot of details (really?), but i understand this development (moving) has me stressed. for two weeks, i've been forgetting where i'm placing stuff. well, i'm notorious for forgetting, but trust me when i know that i've gone overboard... which is BAAADDDD...
hopefully, this won't reflect in my career as a nurse, but i'm a wee bit troubled by it. i do know that as soon as i've resolved where i'm going to stay, and how i'm gonna manage affording it, then i'll be okay.
on a shoe-noteworthy (?) side, i heard crocs (those supposedly comfy shoes i've been hearing about) are coming out with FLATS! hmmm.... must check them out in person. i wonder if the local store at park city (our 'mall') has one.
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other news:
richard gomez (actor) runs for governor! boo for bulacan!
philippines has the most corrupt government! ... wait.. the MOST?!?
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man. politics in pinas really has a bad note to it. the truth is, there are no competent candidates (more likely takot ng gulo, or just plain tired, hopeless in visioning for a change...). and even if they WERE competent, they're freaaaakin GREEDY! it's not really about service, it's more about money!
and seriously, what makes gomez (aka GOMA) even think he can be a good governor? isn't it a bad sign that this wannabe candidate is currently hosting a SHOWBIZ TALK SHOW? helloooooooo?!?!??!
what makes ANY actor/actress have the audacity to run for a political spot?!? (i might be a little lenient on vilma santos, but still..) the last i heard, manny pacquio (the boxer) wanted to run, too, and while the man may be kind enough, he might not be smart enough! the people around him are SURE to take advantage of him (and his popularity).
good grief. has people claim to fame become "i have sikat so-so as my mayor/governor/senator, what about you?". freakin' idiots! i know the actors are only using their popularity coz they have name recall, they don't need to spend as much for campaign. pero naman, there are BETTER candidates out there! why don't these 'famous' people use their fame for a good cause n support somebody else?!?
like, what about that kind old man who carried the ballot box during last year's election? what happened to that congressman (if he was a congressman)? the way he carried that ballot box, meakly, with no words, just to help speed up the counting process, it all spoke volumes! he's all action! all about real service! the rest of his fellow congressman were just laughing, sitting around, milling about, even JUST WATCHING HIM.
i'm more interested with HIM!
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OK, ANOTHER NEWS!!!
to all my pinas friends (yes, both of u!), click here for an update of pinoy news, delivered in a witty, sarcastic mode! http://professionalheckler.blog-city.com/
(and since i directed u there, m sure u won't go to my blog anymore... huhu...)
anyway, it was here i found out about: rob and amber (amazing race: all stars edition) came in last place! they got really sidetracked for misspelling the PHILIPPINES! (wait, did i spell misspelling right... m..i..s..s?)
Labels: musings, pinoy news
1 comments // 4:05 PM
Sunday, March 11, 2007i'm kinda slow on movies right now, but i do make sure i watch some good quality ones (well, $6 a ticket, you gotta make it worthwhile!!!). one film on my list right now is '300'...
and then there are others that i get to watch for free, courtesy of some friends. i was lent 'the promise' and 'hero' (chinese movies) just this weekend, and took the time to watch both (since i had to return them immediately).
supposedly the most expensive chinese movie ever. but you could see how it was spent on graphics (some weren't topnotch, but suspend your belief, people!). visuals were really good, particularly the detail on clothes. there's also this goddess with a floating halo on her head, and i was really distracted by it. the fight scenes were not really martial-arts heavy, but you gotta love the background. my fave one was the fight with the revolving chinese panels...
story-wise, it was pretty simple. it had some mythological concepts in it (the goddess butts in very significantly) and there is a bittersweet love story, too. but it's really the visuals that captured it for me... and the villain. was it wrong to root for the villain? he had such an enigmatic prescence, i was almost always cheering for him!
hmmmm... i am not a jet li fan. i'm sure he's a likeable guy...
visuals also play a role in this movie, but more in dominant colors. there are different versions of the story, and as each version unfolds, the characters always change the hue of their clothes. it has a lot more impact story-wise for me, particularly when its supposedly based on historical data (the warring states period of china).
while 'the promise' had the effect of putting me in a momentary trance-like state of wonder at the vibrant colors, 'hero' strongly urged me to be introspective. long after the movie was finished, i found myself unable to sleep as i wrestled with my thoughts.
'hero' has a good-for-all mentality. there are notable lines in the movie such as "the pain of one man is nothing to the suffering of all", and something about a path rooted in hatred or revenge is bad. another message, albeit more subtle, was the nobility of how one person, can die for a good cause (for me, a very Christian self-sacrifice ideal i understand so well). while these are all true, however, it also emphasizes a uniquely and dominant asian culture. this is not to say that thinking of others is wrong. it wasn't the denial of self that bothered me, but the denial of truth.
(warning: spoiler movies to follow, if you haven't watched 'hero' yet)
while the emperor had the foresight to unite the states of china, it was done in a manner that involved a lot of killings. it was only natural that assassins with personal vendettas would hunt this emperor. at the very end, however, the assassin has a change in heart, realizes that a peaceful nation is more important, then he gives up willingly, and let himself be killed instead.
peace from mass bloodshed? i could not get around the logic of that. neither could i understand the emperor when he broke down as he lamented how few people understood his vision of unity. unity is good, but the killings were not. THE END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS.
i guess because the movie had a political ring to it. it was almost short of saying, there would be anarchy if the government doesn't do this and that. and yes, anarchy is bad, but so is a government that is willing to look the other way all for the sake of vision. it's even more worse if the government doesn't even do any compensation, not even a public apology, for the losses of the people they step on.
there's this movie with wesley snipes (murder at 1600) where a character justifies the killing of a young woman by saying somewhere along the lines of "if i were to choose between righteousness and peace, i choose righteousness". it was more on the context on how and when he said that, which was entirely wrong, especially as he used those words to rationalize the death of an innocent. then the character follows it up with "she was a casualty of war!".
** man. i hated that bastard. **
some people will say, rationalization is not an entirely bad strategy, weighing the pros and cons, and seeing how many people would benefit. i plead guilty, since i do the same thing (i'm asian!), but i guess not in extreme life-or-death circumstances. i guess it does depend on which situation it is used.
however, if rationalization, or the use of logic, is employed to deny reality and emotion -- i might say it even borders on removing self-responsibility -- and attribute the outcome or decision as a necessity, then rationalization needs to be considered, investigated and debated carefully. if not, it will only become a defense mechanism to repress the truth.
3 comments // 4:13 PM
Sunday, March 04, 2007NEW LAYOUT! (i'll still do some tweaking with the revisions, though)..
anyway...
yegads. i just saw my friend's boots 2 days ago, and i can't keep my mind off them! (grey with fur trimmings! at mid-calf length! at a really good price! **feet twitching, face squirming**
now i have an insane urge to buy a new pair. and then all will be right in the world (really, i get that feeling sometimes. a good buy just makes everything seem right).
naturally, i don't want to get the same pair. so here are some that i've been eyeing:
syempre yung isa may boscov sticker pa!
these ones i reaaaaaaaaaaaaally like:
i'm beginning to see signs of shoe fetish-ishness. actually, it's kinda pretty normal in the family. have any of u seen my brother's sneaker collection?
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have i been living under a rock? ps3 is out already???? (see right console)
my gulay. and i thought i was updated on these stuff. the last game console i heard that got out was wii (image on the left, beside ps3). wii looks to be a better interactive game for me, but c'mon. it's PLAYSTATION.
all i know is, pag nagkabahay na ako ng sarili, MERONG DAPAT GAME CONSOLE! hahaha!
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WARNING: michelle reflecting. might get boring.
i'm a little amused AND shocked at how shallow i sounded. i've been obviously talking about a lot of material stuff, that frankly, will only give me a few moments of happiness (um, except maybe for the grey shoes? hehe). should i really add more? (but those shoessss!!) so i look around at the stuff at i already have...
and quite honestly, i'm perplexed at how much i actually have.
a few days ago, i bumped into a korean friend of mine who was moving out of her dorm (and into another one). she showed me the stuff loaded in her car, and expressed at how much she accumulated in the few months she was here in US. i nod in agreement, but moreso because i also realized something -- i've been here 2 years!
that statement now echoes in my head as i look at the property i have in my room. my gulay, ang dami! and when the time comes that i have to move out, i might have to get a truck! (or have a few trips with my uncle's pontiac van) my back will hurt! huhu...
i've been seriously thinking about doing a yard sale one of these days (i'm willing to sell some old stuff from my relatives, if they want me to). the thing is, i have a hard time throwing old stuff away. i have a tendency to hold onto stuff (for a variety of reasons which i won't bore you with)...
even so, i'm really not looking forward to moving. yet AGAIN.
for once, i'd like to settle somewhere permanent where it's also my own choice. oh, i love to travel as much as any other person, but THIS relocating thing is really getting tiring. most of my childhood was already spent moving to different places (due to my dad's different work assignments). and here, i unfortunately have to move out of the house -- perhaps to an apartment... or even out of state (i don't even want to THINK how that's going to be more complicated).
i know some of you will berate me, to just tell me to ACT and quit dwelling on stuff like this. it's high time that i act. don't worry, i tell that to myself, too. so thinking, then berating.. it's all a compounding feeling that can also be draining to just talk about.
so i'll just stop.
i guess that's one reason why i want those damn shoes so much. it's one small thing that gets my mind off this limbo state i'm in.
"live and take life a day at a time. let tommorow worry about itself. just do what u have to do now."
0 comments // 3:29 PM
