United Colors of Paint
Tomorrow we are having our loft re-painted. Yes, after postponing it for the longest time, we finally decided to splurge just go for it. Little did we know that it would be so difficult choosing the appropriate colors. We (my sister and I) spent almost an hour deliberating color schemes at Ace Hardware, the other day. We already had some basic hues in mind but once we got hold of the color swatches, we were overwhelmed by the wide variety of colors available.
Our final choices are Orange Sherbet for the living room, kitchen, the railing of the staircase + the second floor hallway area (my sister's office) with Claypot for the border base and the cabinets. Upstairs in my room, I went for two shades of blue. A light aquamarine shade aptly named Peace River for the walls and Sparkling Blue for the closets. My sister's room will be reddish orange (Mango Tango) with a tinge of a shade which reminds me of vanilla ice cream for the closet. The painters said it would take only 5 days to finish everything BUT I have my doubts. Of course, I am already pretty excited about the final outcome but I don't really relish the fact that I will be out of my comfort zone for a few days.

Now excuse me as I need to clear up A LOT of clutter, sort them into boxes then cover the furniture with blankets.

Hasta la bye bye for now. =)

Not again!
Yesterday, I craved for something sweet so I went to a branch of Go Nuts donuts to get my sugar rush. A box of 3 Choco Nut Sprinkle Zigzag (yummy!) then she asks for my name so I can claim it from the counter.
As some of the readers of this blog know, I've stopped using DAPHNE because they keep getting it wrong. It vexes me to high heavens when they would spell it as Dafne, Defni and once someone actually wrote Delfin. Well duh?!
I started using the name Sara just for the heck of it until my best friend named his now 8 month old baby daughter Sara so I totally lost interest in the name. Why? It's a long story. Forget it, I won't elaborate.

So there I was standing at the cashier, she asked me again for my name because I had this blank look on my face. I blurted out LAURA. Fair enough. That's my second name I might as well make good use of it, right? 5 minutes later, I get my diabetes inducing snack and upon checking the receipt. Guess what? My name was printed out as L-O-R-A.

Geez they still got my name, wrong.

Arghh!

So let's see
I've been running from one mall (Greenbelt) to the other mall (Shangri-la Plaza) reading subtitles to get a sense of different cultures from all these foreign movies. Sadly, there are a lot of empty seats at the Greenbelt Cinema for the CineManila screenings because a movie ticket costs 100 Pesos. While over at the Shang Cineplex, I line up way in advance to watch those European films for free. Some people do not seem to understand the word "Reserved" even when it is pasted boldly on a seat. They would persist so all the usher does is to tell them to vacate the seat. Therefore totally distracting me from reading the subtitles.
It seems the Filipino audience while viewing a foreign movie:

• like to talk out loud to the screen
• laugh at imperfections like someone stuttering or someone being overweight
• gasp collectively at a nude scene
• use expressions like "hala" and "ayan kasi" to express disbelief
• are easily shocked during a dark scene and scream

The most fun part for me though is hearing their comments while I'm waiting in line (yes, another line!) to use the restroom after the movie is over. They totally crack me up to no end. But yes I am still in my elements even if I seem to have pulled a pinched nerve in my right leg so I limp around town, this coming week I will still be camping out at the movie theaters. =)

Pleasant distractions
CineManila officially starts today. It will run from November 3 - 15, 2006. Its main focus are the locally developed digital films thus giving our local film industry a much needed boost. There are also a few foreign films included in the festival which will be screened at Greenbelt 1, Cinema 2. This would be my main hang out because I admit I'm not into local films so bite me :D For more details check out their website.

Next week, the Shang Cineplex heralds Cine Europa with a variety of European movies to be shown free of charge. The films are:
Austria "Karo und der Liebe Gott"
Belgium "Everybody Famous"
Belgium "When The Sea Rises"
Czech Republic "Zelary"
Finland "One way ticket to Mombasa"
France "Russian Dolls"
Germany "Das Wunder Von Bern"
The Netherlands "Simon"
Portugal "The Dauphin"
Spain "Cosas que hacen que la vida valga la pena"
Sweden "Klassfesten" (The Reunion)
United Kingdom "Breakfast on Pluto"

Screening Time Schedule:

November 9, 2006 (Thursday)
7:00 PM (Cinema 1) Karo and the Lord(AT)
7:00 PM (Cinema 3) One way ticket to Mombasa(FI)

November 10, 2006 (Friday)
1:50 PM Karo and the Lord(AT)
3:50 PM Everybody Famous (Manila Only)(BE1)
6:30 PM One way ticket to Mombasa(FI)
9:00 PM Simon (NL)

November 11, 2006 (Saturday)
2:40 PM The Russian Dolls (FR)
4:40 PM The Miracle of Bern (DE)
6:40 PM The Dauphin (PT)
9:00 PM Breakfast on Pluto (UK)

November 12, 2006 (Sunday)
1:50 PM When The Sea Rises (BE 2)
4:50 PM Zelary (CZ)
6:50 PM Simon (NL)
9:00 PM Things That Make Life Worth Living (ES)

November 13, 2006 (Monday)
1:30 PM The Reunion (SE)
3:50 PM Karo and the Lord(AT)
6:20 PM Everybody Famous (Manila Only) (BE1)
9:00 PM One Way Ticket to Mombasa (FI)

November 14, 2006 (Tuesday)

2:00 PM The Russian Dolls (FR)
4:45 PM The Miracle of Bern (DE)
7:00 PM The Dauphin (PT)
9:00 PM When The Sea Rises (BE 2)

November 15, 2006 (Wednesday)
1:50 PM Zelary (CZ)
3:50 PM Simon (NL)
6:50 PM The Reunion (SE)
9:00 PM Things That Make Life Worth Living (ES)

November 16, 2006 (Thursday)
2:10 PM Karo and the Lord(AT)
4:40 PM Everybody Famous (Manila Only)(BE1)
7:00 PM One Way Ticket to Mombasa(FI)
9:00 PM The Russian Dolls (FR)

November 17, 2006 (Friday)
2:00 PM The Miracle of Bern (DE)
4:15 PM The Dauphin (PT)
7:00 PM When The Sea Rises (BE 2)
9:00 PM Zelary (CZ)

November 18, 2006 (Saturday)
1:40 PM Simon (NL)
3:50 PM The Reunion (SE)
6:00 PM Things That Make Life Worth Living (ES)
9:00 PM Karo and the Lord (AT)

November 19, 2006 (Sunday)
1:50 PM One Way Ticket to Mombasa (FI)
4:50 PM The Russian Dolls (FR)
6:50 PM The Miracle of Bern (GR)
9:00 PM The Dauphin (PT)


So if you pass by my blog and notice I haven't posted any entries, you know why. I will be camped out (yet again) at the cinema theaters. =)

Undas 2006

I have always been traditionalistic. I have grown accustomed to performing certain rituals and traditions during specific days of the year. For example - Visita Iglesia on Maundy Thursdays (visiting 7 churches during Holy Week), Hearing Mass on Easter Sundays, Christmas Eves and on New Year's Day.
So today being All Saints Day or is it All Souls Day (I get them confused), it is imperative we pay homage to our dearly departed relatives. From the manicured lawns of the Loyola Memorial Park in Sucat, Paranaque with a lunch break at Max's Restaurant for its finger licking good chicken, we crossed over to the quaint and cozy 'apartment' style cemetery in the San Juan area. We ended the day by delving deep into the bowels of the teeming sea of humanity in one of the crowded public cemeteries in Mandaluyong - that was our itinerary today. Fortunately, we don't stay too long in these places, we just lit our candles, deposit our flowers, pray the rosary then hie off to the next stop. No nosy relatives to run into, no camping with tents and umbrellas together with pots and pans of food (something I've never liked - picnics) so it was relatively painless.

Except of course for the blazing heat, the dehydration and the varicose veins I developed standing for hours but it is a small price to pay for remembering people who have filled our lives with fond memories to last us an entire lifetime. =)

Phew!
Maybe it is a sign of some sort that when I turned a year older, I got my tummy rocked with painful spasms, I nursed a cold which progressed into a wheezing cough and I endured terrible monthly cramps - all within the span of a few weeks, one after the other. Eeeps!
A sign of what?
I have no idea!

But I don't recommend it to anyone.
The only good thing is I lost some weight.
But I'm sure I would put it all back on, the weight I mean once I get my hands on some sinful delicacies I have been craving for with fervor.
I want nachos, chocolate ice cream, go-nuts and strangely, a bowl of piping hot clam chowder.
Yes it's official I'm back to normal.
All I can think about is food, food and more food.
Yay! =)

Meme time
First, it was painful tummy spasms now I have a nasty cold. Eeeps! So I'm all medicated, feeling drowsy yet I'm in the mood to answer a meme which I copied from their blogs =)

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
"calling. But inevitably they opened up - as they had not opened up to" - Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers. A book which I finally finished reading. It would forever haunt my mind with very graphic descriptions of the brutal atrocities which the Japanese military inflicted upon the American soldiers who invaded Sulfur Island aka Iwo Jima.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Ok, now what?

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Survivor: Cook Islands live telecast on Studio 23. It was just a silly recap of scenes not aired from previous episodes. Yawn!

4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
3:30 p.m.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
3:40 p.m.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
My sister typing away on her laptop.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Yesterday to buy cough medicine.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
The mirror.

9. What are you wearing?
A blue batik inspired sun dress I bought in Boracay.

10. Did you dream last night?
No

11. When did you last laugh?
Earlier when I called my mother on the phone.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A charcoal portrait of me and a round wall clock from Istanbul, Turkey.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
No but I read an email from my best friend who told me about this really weird Japanese film he watched at the ongoing Tokyo International Film Festival.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
It is fun.

15. What is the last film you saw?
The Guardian.

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Plane tickets so I can travel all over the world.

17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
I haven't read a single Harry Potter book nor do I intend to start. Not really my genre of reading material.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Educate every single child on earth.

19. Do you like to dance?
Not really.

20. George Bush
The name of 2 U.S. Presidents.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Daniella Marie.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Carlo.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes, why not?

24. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
What took you so long to get here?

Incredible!

We got our Meralco bill today. It amounts to a staggering P4,890.75!
You would think that with 6 days of total darkness due to typhoon Milenyo, they would offer some rebate/discount. But no siree, the high and mighty Manila Electric Company might go bankrupt if the consumers pay half the due amount for such a lousy service. Hmmm I guess I have to take into consideration, it is a lot less than what I paid last month - a whooping P6.092.85!!! Bills, bills and more bills. Such a bane on our existence.

Ugh!