Updates
Bad news:
I lost all my files. The hard drive was corrupted.

Good news:
My computer works. The technician reformatted Little Neo.

Best news:
It's official!!! I am extremely happy I could cry but I won't. =)


P.S.
But I did cry when I lost all my files. *sniffs*

P.P.S
Happy 109th Independence Day.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

An appreciation note

Dear DF,

Yesterday was our 3rd date. I'm glad you agreed to let me treat you this time. Let's call it your back to school treat.
Alright granted that the film we watched was free admission. Yes I was disappointed it wasn't a French film. I was surprised they showed the Tagalog version of the March of the Penguins with Sharon Cuneta narrating the story. Blah! I so wanted you to be able to hear French spoken in cinematic form. You always sound so eager to learn some French words even though I laugh every time you try to pronounce them properly.
The pork barbecue with Java rice was yummy. You are such a tease joking that I would blend perfectly in the food court because my orange shirt matched the seats. Well when I'm with you I always end up laughing out loud because you have such a natural sense of humor which amuses me to no end.
The best part of the night though (for me anyway) was you insisting on meeting my parents and my sister at my cozy little loft. I'm overwhelmed really. I still can't believe you insist on doing things the proper way. Honestly I was nervous but everything went fine judging from the warm response of my family to your learned presence. Proof: my parents were up way past their bed time talking to you. It was best you left when you got the chance because my parents have a tendency to talk, talk and just talk if you don't interrupt them. They were impressed by your stock knowledge of historical facts well I guess you should know these tidbits, you mold the impressionable minds of students for a living.
I hope you like the kisses I gave you. I'm referring to the Hershey chocolate kisses I bought for you from one of the duty free shops at Subic. I know you will be busy once classes start June 13 so probably our dates won't be as frequent as I want them to be.

Nevertheless thanks for being such an inspiring presence in my life! =)

Bonne Nuit,
Daphs

Computer Woes
Little Neo as I affectionately call my CPU threw a tantrum yesterday morning. She won't start much to my chagrin. Well she starts alright but for some reason, she won't load Windows!!! Ergo, I'm computer less and Internet less now.

*hikbi*

Since I'm the ultimate procrastinator, after huffing and puffing trying to troubleshoot it myself (as if I knew how I might have made it worse, who knows?) I gave up! I simply let bratty Little Neo rest and have her tantrum. Thank God for film festivals and a weekend date with DF*, I have pleasant distractions to occupy my Internet less time. =)


*He who shall remain nameless will now be known as DF.
DF are his initials but for anonymity's sake, DF would stand for Da Friend!

Fair enough, right? ;-)

Logs off from Internet Cafe.

French Film Festival
It opens on Thursday, June 7, 2007 at Shangri-La Plaza. Cocktails start at 6:30pm. Screening of opening film, OSS 117 (the French James Bond) at 8 pm. First come first served. (By invitation only)

Venue: Cinema 3 Shangri La Cineplex
Dates: June 8 - 17, 2007

LIST OF FILMS:
Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) by Luc Besson
Fair Play (2006) by Lionel Bailliu
Gamblers (2005) by Frederic Balekdjian
March of the Penguins (2005) by Luc Jacuet
Not There to be Loved (2005) by Stephane Brize
OSS 117 (2006) by Michel Hazanavicius
Sequins (2004) by Eleanore Faucher
The Ax (2005) by Costa-Gavras
The Little Lieutenant (2005) by Xavier Beauvois
Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006) by Tom Tykwer


SKED:

June 8 (F)
1:00 PM Perfume
3:30 PM Arthur
6:00 PM The Ax
8:30 PM Gamblers

June 9 (Sa)
1:00 PM Arthur
3:30 PM Lieutenant
6:00 PM Penguins
8:30 PM Sequins

June 10 (Su)
1:00 PM Penguins
3:30 PM Not Here
6:00 PM Perfume
8:30 PM The Ax

June 11 (M)
1:00 PM Sequins
3:30 PM Not Here
6:00 PM The Ax
8:30 PM Penguins

June 12 (Tu)
Tribute to Philippine Cinema

June 13 (W)
1:00 PM The Ax
3:30 PM Gamblers
6:00 PM Sequins
8:30 PM Arthur

June 14 (Th)
1:00 PM Penguins
3:30 PM The Ax
6:00 PM Fair Play (Discussion with Lionel Bailliu will follow)

June 15 (F)
1:00 PM Not Here
3:30 PM Sequins
6:00 PM Arthur
8:30 PM Perfume

June 16 (Sa)
1:00 PM The Ax
3:30 PM Perfume
6:00 PM Fair Play
8:30 PM Gamblers

June 17 (Su)
1:00 PM Arthur
3:30 PM Lieutenant
6:00 PM Not Here
8:30 PM Penguins

Contact:
Martin Macalintal
Audiovisual Attaché
French Embassy
Direct Line: 857-6935

Shangri la Cineplex
Tel: 633-2227 or 633-7851

Interview Tag

Interview rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Rach's questions:
1. Name something (could be an event, situation, thing or person) that gives you a natural high.
Receiving handwritten mail, the smile on my family's faces and a "good morning" text message from someone.who.shall.still.remain.nameless =)

2. Fill in the blanks: Happiness is a matter of choice.
If one chooses to be happy despite all the negative energy that permeates in this world, no matter what life has to offer, you will find contentment in it.


3. Are you more of a morning or evening person?
I'm more of an evening person but I can also be a morning person if the situation demands it. In short I can adjust accordingly because I'm really flexible. :D


4. Share a random pet peeve.
People who don't say "excuse me" when they exit from the elevators and just push their way out. Bad manners seem to be the norm these days, unfortunately!


5. Name a movie that you would like to be part of the plot.
"Before Sunset", the sequel to "Before Sunrise". I would be Celine, of course. She meets Jesse again after 9 years in Paris where he is on a book tour. She is wiser, more mature as well as bitter and sarcastic. Life has handed her some rough deals which makes her a lot more interesting as a character than the doe eyed young girl she was in the first movie. Besides it is set in Paris which is my favorite city in the world. Oh can we cast Mark Ruffalo instead of Ethan Hawke? ;)



Toni's questions:
1. If you were to come face to face with your 7-year-old self, what advice would you give her?
I would tell her stop being a cry baby and toughen up for what lies ahead. I was a shy little wimp back then.


2. Which of the countries that you've visited or lived in had the most impact on you?
Dubai, UAE, a place I called home for 6 years. I made really good friends, met alot of interesting people. I also witnessed the progress or dare I say the decay of that Arabian city. From a mystically quaint desert gem of a place to this artificial, man made metropolis which is sadly losing its roots in the name of globalization.


3. If you were invisible for a day, what would you like to hear other people say about you?
I would eavesdrop and just listen to whatever they have to say about me. It doesn't matter if it was positive or negative as long as it is how they really feel about me.


4. What is your favorite comfort food?
I'm not sure I have one because I tend to just make kutkot at any given time in the day because I'm matakaw (greedy) like that.


5. What movie quote resonates with you the most?
A line from "Before Sunset" which was uttered by Celine. In my lifetime, I've made a lot of acquaintances which resorted into disconnection due to circumstances beyond my control. So I really cherish the friendships that have lasted through the years.

"I guess when you're young, you just believe they'll be many people with whom you'll connect with. Later in life, you realize it only happens a few times."

Bacolor, Pampanga

Bacolor Pampanga
Originally uploaded by daphnelaura

On our way home from Subic it was imperative that we pass by a little town in Pampanga which has very deep sentimental value to my mother. The parents of my mother hail from Bacolor, a quiet little town deep within the province of Pampanga. It was unfortunately completed devastated by the Mount Pinatubo eruption. Whole villages were buried under lahar and alot of families were affected by this natural calamity. We entered this ancient church in the outskirts of Bacolor, the San Guillermo Parish Church. As you can see from the picture only the top part and the towering belfry is visible, the rest has been buried under concrete lahar. Yet once you enter its premises, the altar is still intact and a certain solemnity reigns within its midst. It was a poignant moment for my mother as she prayed in the church. My mother was born and raised in Manila but she remembers going to Bacolor both as a child way back during the second World War era and when she was still single to visit her relatives there. Her father (My grandfather who I never had the opportunity to meet) died in the 1940s due to an incurable disease and he was buried somewhere in a cemetery behind the church. A resting place which was itself buried under the ash fall of the lahar during the Mount Pinatubo eruption. It was a relief to see that Bacolor seems to be on its way to making some progress, building up again from the ashes of that terrible tragedy which inflicted them. It was a brief but very nostalgic side trip for the whole family. =)

Subic Bay trip snippets in bullet form

Accommodations are alot cheaper in Subic than in Tagaytay. We stayed at the Legenda Suites which is located in Cubi Point. It can be reached through winding roads and it's nestled within dense rain forests. It is nicely tucked in so the atmosphere was cool with pure fresh air to envelop you in its midst.

I've always had a soft spot for the environment. So it was deeply heartwarming to know that you only need to drive more or less 3 hours to find yourself in an idyllic ecotourism paradise. Dense thick rain forests, clear pure air, vast expanse of ocean/bay, gorgeous backdrop of mountains. It was so peaceful and serene my city gal heart was happily content to commune with nature.

I have also been an avid zoo fan. I like seeing wild animals in their natural habitats. Well in cages of course, I don't want to be their meal du jour! We went to the mini zoo at the JEST CAMP. Our guide, Albert showed us the different species of colorful birds at the Aviary, the wide variety of spiders/tarantulas at the insectarium, the brightly colored butterflies at the butterfly farm. We were also instructed by Orly, a local forest ranger who showed us the multiple benefits of the bamboo tree and gave some very useful survival tactics. It was very informative!

On May 30, our itineraries for mom's birthday were the Ocean Adventure park and the Zoobic Safari. Our hotel was located within the vicinity of these two main attractions. A winding path led to the Camayan Wharf area where the marine park is located. We were excited to watch the sea lions (Madison and Simba), the bottle nosed dolphins and the false killer whale perform their tricks. They were so cute! We also ogled at the different species of beautiful fish in their aquarium, all neatly swimming around to our delight.

I made a lot of new friends from the animal kingdom over at Zoobic Safari. I saw Colette the ostrich, George the alpha male head of the tigers at Tiger Safari, Nikolai the bear and look here's Bambi, the deer!

There was also a pot bellied pig who was so fat he (or she) could hardly stand up! There were goats, sheeps and geese just roaming around freely. It felt like you were intruding on their personal space. Our able guide, Noel gamely led us around the zoo with educational information about each animal.

Then we were locked into cages on a truck for the Tiger Safari. Huge tigers just lounging around in their habitat looking at us like we were prisoners since after all we were the ones in cages, not them! Ha! Sorry for the blurry picture, I was a bit cautious they might jump on the truck and decide to chew on my fingers for some light snack.

The highlight of the Zoobic Safari for me was being greeted by a tribe of Aetas who performed ritual dances for our group. Then to our amusement, it started to rain the moment they performed a rain dance! It was so romantic (for me anyway), here we were inside a thick rain forest, the dim clouds overhead, clear pure rain pouring down on us relentlessly but it felt so serenely calm. I didn't mind getting wet despite being under an umbrella. It was such a surreal moment, really.

The last stop at Zoobic was at the Croco Loco farm. An enclosure of hundreds of crocodiles just lying around staring up at us. They probably thought we were food while we saw them as imported leather goods at a duty free store. Heh! It was still raining heavily so all we could do was lurk over them. Did you know that a crocodile doesn't move much so they can store their energy? That once they are fed, they can last without food for 2 months straight? Interesting trivia, isn't it?

I like how everything is neat and orderly within the Freeport Area. The streets are clean, people drive within the speed limits, people follow rules. I guess it can be restrictive and too sanitized but it works. I wish there are more cities in the metropolis which function that way!

I undeniably confess the reason we kept getting lost looking for the attractions and going to and from the hotel is entirely my fault, I am a very very very lousy map reader. As attested by my sister who lost her cool every time I fumbled with the map, be sure you have a good navigator to guide you while driving. =)

I'm glad that my parents were upbeat during the entire trip especially my mother who is quite the trooper! She didn't mind sweating it out in such rugged surroundings. I still can't believe that both my parents are now in the 7th decade of their life. For me they will always be this happy couple who laughs a lot and would pack us up to go gallivanting around Europe during weekends back in the very good old days. I'm very blessed indeed for having such great parents. I'm very thankful for their indomitable spirit and their incessant joie de vivre to face each day as it dawns with loads of positive attitude which they bestow upon me and my sister with such abundant joy! =)

I conclude by saying that there are 3 vital points to remember if you want to experience Subic (1) bring pockets full of cash because entrance fees are exorbitant! But believe me, they are worth it - the facilities are well maintained and managed by good reputable companies who willingly invested in the Subic Bay area (2) it is imperative to have a sturdy vehicle for mobility's sake and lastly (3) be appropriately dressed for some tough terrain, be prepared to sweat profusely (oh boy, I must have lost a few pounds from being drenched in perspiration!) and always respect the clean surroundings of the area and nature in general.

That's all for now, folks!

I'm back!

3 days and 2 nights is surely not enough to explore everything that Subic Bay has to offer. But the smiles on my parents' faces especially my mother who turned 70 in a beautiful city by the Bay is truly priceless. 3 days of hectic activities which to my pleasant surprise didn't deter the SevenOhs (the Septuagenarians). They were just as enthusiastic and if I may say so quite energetic to experience the fun filled frolic in the sun (the rains too) and everything in between. =)