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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Entertainment
*MOVIES
X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND  last friday, i got the chance to watch X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND with my family and a few friends. if you're a regular here, you'd know by now that i'm somewhat "attached" to hugh jackman. heniweys, i did enjoy the movie, although at times, there were moments were plotlines weren't given enough time to develop. as i've read somewhere, i guess the reason behind this is that, there were just too many mutants in the movie. it would've been great if these characters were introduced in the first two movies, but some, we see them here for the first time. don't get me wrong. if this is supposed to be the last x-men movie (in this decade, at least), then, it's just fitting. to make another movie after this one could be, well, just too much. although, there have been rumors, news, whispers that they are still planning to make some x-men movie... only this time, focused on one mutant at a time.so, what's my take on the movie? MUCH BETTER than the da vinci code, i tell ya. i could watch it again. although, i have a bone to pick with the filmmakers of x-men: there's a scene where wolverine was facing off with the dark phoenix and his clothes started to melt away. now, how come tanks and human flesh were easily incinerated by phoenix's power, and on his way to her, most of wolverine's clothes vanished... EXCEPT THE LOWER PART?!! was phoenix too modest to take a peek at wolverine's, erm, pelvic region?! not even a cheek was shown... bah. PRIME  a few weeks ago, i decided to pass my time by watching Prime starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. if you've seen the trailers, it looked like a funny comedy (is that redundant?) about a woman who sees a therapist about her floundering love life. then, enters the young man and they fall madly in love. the twist, the guy is her therapist's son, unbeknownst to her.how i wish i could get the hour and half i wasted on this movie... the movie revolved more on the age difference between uma's and bryan greenberg's characters. in fact, meryl streep's character was just an added nuisance. then, after the couple worked out all their differences... the movie fast forwards to one year later... and they're not together anymore. i dunno how they got there. maybe i just wasn't paying too much attention... but, then again, the movie should have captured it in the first place. *REALITY TV call it my guilty pleasure. it can be mind-numbing at times... but it still provides me with some great entertainment. however, i'm somewhat disappointed with my four top reality series: Amazing Race, Survivor, American Idol and America's Next Top Model. NONE of the people i was rooting for won... sucks!  in Amazing Race, i thouroughly enjoyed the hippies antics all throughout the show... but i was a staunch supporter of the frat boys. they were shallow... and they knew it. they were fun too watch. too bad they didn't concentrate more on their geography class. in Survivor, terry was my man. i was okay with aras but danielle should've been voted out a long time ago. and i actually didn't like cirie. was momentarily satisfied when shane said the terry should've won. AI... what can i say? i did enjoy taylor's perfomances but i wanted kat to win. heck, i wanted ace to win. but, i'm grateful for small favors... at least, it wasn't chicken little or, worse, paris.  last, ANTM was the biggest disappointment of all. joanie should've won this cycle. she's DEFINITELY much better than danielle... i was so surprised when i found out joanie lost. i mean, there was just no competition between the two! i wonder what Covergirl thinks about danielle's commercial shoot?! that one tanked!*BOOKS over the weekend, i finished two books i borrowed from a dear friend. i sometimes surprise myself on how fast i can devour books. being a fast reader is a gift, especially in times of book reports and deadlines... but i'm not in school anymore. reading at a leisurely pace is almost impossible for me!  i read Linda Jaivin's Eat Me first. its first two sentences already had me laughing out loud.  i've only read a few erotica, some of them were even required reading back in college. this one was entertaining, but Vox by nicholson baker is still my favorite. The Amulet of Samarkand was delightful to read. i'm currently into the fantasy genre and i was so glad to be introduced to this book. i hardly put the book down and it pains me that i currently don't have the rest of the trilogy.this is a story about a yong magician's apprentice and a djinni he summoned to help him with a task. it was refreshing to read a protagonist that was not perfect, nor always morally right. he definitely has a lot to learn in terms of growing up. -------------------------------- my, that was a long post. i applaud you if you've reached this far. ;) -prescribed by-  @7:25 PM -9 came for therapy session-
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Lessons Learned
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants -prescribed by- @7:39 PM -24 came for therapy session-
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Best Man
 sometimes, i worry about my husband. some days, he is like a little boy, lost and wandering. he claims he has not yet discovered what his passion in life is... he seems to have no hobbies or a pasttime that is just his own. he is passionate about his family... but what he lacks is a dream for himself.my husband didn't have a typical childhood. i'd always think that he grew up too soon. as his father braved foreign land to provide for his family, my husband became the man of the house. he was just a little boy... but, i guess, that responsiblity didn't give him the opportunity to dream. when i got pregnant, i was never scared because i knew, robert is a responsible man. he may have stumbled and he may have gotten lost some time in his life, but he always put the people important to him first. that is just the man he is. i am a dreamer... always have been. i still fantasize about life and the future... and i'm always grateful that i have a wild imagination. it benefits me as a writer and i wouldn't feel alive, be alive if i could never write again. i wish that my husband has something that he could feel the same way about... something he longs for... something he could go to when reality just becomes too much. still, for someone who wanders, he sure has wandered far from where he started. clueless about his passion, he majored in math when he started college. after a few years, he decided to shift and major in metallurgical engineering instead. it took him quite awhile but he finished and passed his board exams and became a licensed engineer. unfortunately, there was little demand for metallurgical engineers back then, so in an act of desperation, i faxed his resume to a company needing someone with engineering background.  who knew that fax would lead us to where we are right now? from a math geek, to an engineer, to a copy editor, then a marketing executive and, now, to assistant communications manager. from an awkward boyfriend, to a sudden husband, to a doting father. from a little boy who grew up too soon to a man who is still learning about who he is destined to be. that is my husband. that is my man.-prescribed by- @5:02 PM -10 came for therapy session-
Monday, May 22, 2006
Saturdate
it is quite sad that the last time my husband and i went out on a date was more than a year ago. if i remember quite correctly, it was on valentine's day and we watched constantine, starring keanu reeves.
finally, we had the chance to go out, just the two of us, last saturday. we left anya with our volunteer babysitters and off we went. too bad, we decided to watch The Da Vinci Code, which by the end of the day, i already forgot. to anyone who wants to ask, if you've read the book, don't bother to watch the movie... unless you have nothing else better to do... or you're a big fan of tom hanks. (and don't get me started on the whole Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown and religion thing. it's fiction people! move on.) funny though, when the typhoon Chanchu was supposed to hit, it was barely raining here. now, it's pissing rain. we didn't bother to extend our date after the movie because of the crappy weather. don't get me wrong... i love the rain. but raining during summer means humidity... my hair was frizzy and my shirt was sticking to my skin... not very comfortable. so, we decided to pick up anya... which extended to a tiny get-together with a few friends. THAT was more fun than the movie. i discovered pepperonis and i had a mini-affair with their new orleans pizza. the weekend was too short, in my own opinion. now, it's monday and it's still raining... and, once again, i'm counting the minutes till friday night. -prescribed by- @10:33 PM -4 came for therapy session-
Thursday, May 18, 2006
My First 13
here's my first go on Thursday Thirteen!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants -prescribed by- @8:46 PM -19 came for therapy session-
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
OK, Who Raised The Hype?!!
re: storm --- all i can say is, pffft!
all that hype about the storm and then, nothing. don't get me wrong. i'm grateful that there's no/won't be any major damages but i've been bracing myself and bracing myself and bracing myself since monday and it's barely raining! the hk observatory predicted heavy rains for a few days now and it's JUST spitting rain. ehhh... i MIGHT just be cranky coz school and work are still on despite the typhoon signal no. 3 being raised. gaaah! --------------------------------- we subscribe to nowBroadband TV instead of the local cable provider. here, we can just pay for the channels we want and not have to deal with a gazillion of other foreign language channels. after a period of time, we can decide not to renew our subscription on certain channels. this is what we did, twice now... called them up and decided to cancel some channels since we don't watch it that often and, of course, we wanted to lower our monthly rate. the funny thing is, the first time around, we decided to cancel about three channels. after talking on the phone with them, we ended up with MORE channels (some of which we don't even care for) for a LOWER monthly rate. my husband and i were laughing about it... then on monday night, several of our channels reached the end of their subscription period. we could choose to renew it or cancel. we told them we wanted to cancel some channels in exchange for different ones that became available recently. after much talk, once again, we ended up with MORE channels for even a LOWER monthly rate! thank God for little blessings... ------------------------------- mothers' day was pleasant for me this time around. after robert and anya did their presentation number, we headed out for sunday mass and was pleasantly surprised during the sermon when the priest said that maybe it's about time that the women ruled the world. my husband was elbowing me and everything. i don't know if he was in agreement or he was going "yeah, right!". but then again, he knows who's boss around here... ;)  later that day, we decided to trek over to Repulse Bay and check out the beach. growing up in a tropical country, i felt that the beach here in HK was... well... manufactured. there was none of the powder white sand nor the sparkling blue waters. the sand was light brownish with the texture of brown sugar and the water was greenish... like in a lake. still, i missed that sound of the waves crashing and that salty sea air. it'll have to do...-prescribed by- @2:13 PM -4 came for therapy session-
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Chanchu
 (the yellow dot is HK... and it IS a dot compared to the size of the typhoon) there's a storm heading our way, most likely making landfall tomorrow. it's supposed to be a very strong typhoon but people around here seems to be lax about it. still, my ref is fully-stocked at the moment, i have my cans of coke cooling and just received the Oprah DVD from my sister... so, i'm all set. i can "camp out" in my apartment for a few days with leaving it to forage for sustenance. this typhoon caused some major damages in the philippines before it set its eye on HK. several people died, hundreds were evacuated... so i'm thinking, "should i be nervous?". being that i grew up there, i'm so used to typhoons. it's not unusual for classes to be cancelled for days at a time, not unusual to not have electricity and running water for days. still, i don't want to let my guard down. mother nature is never to be pooh-poohed! unfortunately, with most people downplaying the storm, classes and work are not likely to be suspended. my worst fear is that my husband and daughter has left home already, THEN the storm hits. i just hope it's weak enough that it won't cause devastation but strong enough that classes and work are cancelled. is that too much to ask for? -prescribed by- @8:37 PM -4 came for therapy session-
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Things They Do
and because it's mother's day... i have the power to embarrass my own husband and daughter all over the blogging world.
they woke me up at 6:30 in the morning for this! ah... the things they do just to make me happy... or pee in my pants! -prescribed by- @1:50 PM -9 came for therapy session-
Friday, May 12, 2006
SPF - It Comes In Twos
 i swear, i wanted to get creative for this week's SPF, as Kristine asked, but darn it, cramps got in the way. the kind that men should be thankful they don't have a uterus. but, crappy mood aside, i did my best.;)*Something I Have Two Of - sisters. i have two of them. both older and bitchier. heehee. live on opposite sides of the world, one in north america, one in southeast asia. miss them. miss shopping with them. miss gossiping with them. two different personalities, two different (erm) sizes, eleven months apart.
*Something I Wish I Have Two Of - weekends. i wish i have two saturdays. two friday nights. two easy sunday mornings. can i get a "hell yeah!"?!!
*Two (or as i call it, photo that required thinking) - the two loves of my life. my husband, my daughter. nothing better than that. and this is where i bid you, adieu. i'll be spending the rest of the weekend in bed, with a bag of hershey's kisses, nursing my cramps away. i mean, it's what the doctor ordered, right? -prescribed by- @5:39 PM -26 came for therapy session-
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Hello. My Name is Xtessa and I'm A People-Pleaser.
sometime in my childhood, i was probably brainwashed to think that what other people's impression of me is more important than what i think about myself. that is why i people-please, to get a good impression. of course, now, i know better... but it still doesn't stop me from obsessing, once in a while, with other's perception of me.
i tend to people-please to the extent that i become a doormat. most of time, i don't mind. i just think that i'm happy when i make others happy... even if they're just taking advantage of me. i've gotten better over the years, learned to say no, although it does make me feel selfish that i put MY wants first. there are times when i just want to stop caring... caring about what others are saying about me, about the way i look, or talk, or did something. i mean, i'm the kind of person who doesn't want to offend as much as possible. try not to step on anyone's toes. and to think of it, some of them over here haven't even heard of deodorants... so why should i bother not offending when they never even considered it... especially when you're going to ride in an airconditioned bus? but i digress... and do i even have a point here? i just want to shake this feeling... that i did something wrong or that i should make an effort to pass their standards... feelings of never being good enough. 'coz deep inside, i know i am. and in some cases, i'm better. i use a deodorant after all. -prescribed by- @4:24 PM -3 came for therapy session-
Monday, May 08, 2006
Weekend Update
we just had a three-day weekend and, naturally, it still isn't enough. so, what did i do to squander my weekend?
*finally met Tanya. if i remember correctly, we crossed paths through Stuff Portrait Friday and had since planned to meet. i mean, we both live in such a small country/city... but it took us, what? almost a year? so, with no work or sick daughter (well, mine anyway, heehee) or trips to australia in the way, we finally met for coffee last friday. it was like the blind date i never had. LOL! just kidding, tanya... i had a great time chatting with her. i thought i'd get tongue-tied or something... and, shut up! it happens! i CAN be shy... but, all in all, it was worth braving the humidity and leaving the comfort of my bed. *saturday, i finished the first book in the Left Behind series. it caught my husband's attention first... he's always been interested in Revelation-related topics... and for lack of any new reading material at home, i decided to give it a try. what can i say? it did scare me and made me think about my beliefs. it also gave me nightmares where i was crying that i don't want to be left behind! did i hate it? i'm actually waiting for my husband to finish book two so i can read it for myself! *sunday was migraine day. watched a few episodes of shows i've put aside but felt somewhat guilty for being incapacitated. i started doing the laundry but my wonderful, wonderful husband took over while i proceeded to vegetate in bed. and, he made me some scrumptious cheeseburgers for lunch. he does take care of me, doesn't he? *found a nice surprise when we went to flow (a 2ndhand bookstore). i've been planning to buy meg cabot's "size 12 is not fat" in the regular bookstore but i found a fairly new copy being sold at flow for like half the original price. happy, happy, happy. -prescribed by- @9:31 PM -6 came for therapy session-
Friday, May 05, 2006
SPF - Cinco de Mayo
 it might be cinco de mayo in other parts of the world but today is buddha's birthday here in hong kong! it's a holiday so, yes, my ass is planted where it should be... my bed! but before i call it a day, here's my SPF for the week:*Something with flavor - what is it, you ask... this is what we call "bagoong" (bah-goh-ong) back home, or simply put, shrimp paste. it's lots of salty, teeny-weeny shrimps and we use it as a dip or mixed with rice or pork. guaranteed to make you want to eat more! (added to note: yes, the teeny heads are still attached. those black spots in the photo are the eyes. heehee..)
*Plant your ass - a few weeks ago, this is the place where i literally "planted my ass"! see those uneven steps? step down, look around, twist your ankle and voila! SPLAT! my body was sore for a couple of days after that quite embarrassing incident.
*Body of water - i planned to post a different photo for this category but the weather today was just so gloomy that almost eveything looked gray. so, i opted for one of my old photos of the victoria harbour in hong kong. here, you can see the ferry that takes you from hk island to kowloon and vice versa. would not suggest going swimming in it though... you might just develop another head or some mutant power. -prescribed by- @8:02 PM -25 came for therapy session-
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Nin Saam
looking at the calendar, i just realized that i've been living in hong kong for two years now. with constantly feeling like i'm still adjusting to this hectic country, i'm still far from calling it home.
my first year here, i felt like fish out of water. being homesick was a feeling i had almost everyday and my body even felt out of whack as i was barraged by quite a number of sickness. still, i stuck it out because i'd rather be with my husband than back where i was comfortable. year two was a slight improvement. my body had somehow adjusted as my allergies and asthma leveled down, and i fell into a routine with my daughter as she started kindergarten. i still missed home especially my sisters who were my closest friends. meeting friends in hong kong was still hard for me, with the language barrier or even financial status. no major disasters and, for once, i felt in control of my life. i felt sad as 2005 came to a close. now, i'm starting year three (or nin saam in cantonese accdg. to my daughter) here in hong kong. so far... it sucks. i find myself constantly running out of time, barely a moment for myself... we have a nasty, nasty neighbor below us, my dad developed cataracts due to his diabetes, then robert had bell's palsy... and recently, another crappy deal was handed to us. my husband, who's running for sainthood when it comes to dedication in his work, was finally offered a new position... a step up, shall we say. certainly, it should be a cause for celebration... then again, we received the news that we won't be reaping the rewards of said promotion... yet. no pay increase till later this year. sucks, i know. in the meantime, i'm keeping my fingers crossed. maybe someday, i can call hong kong my home. maybe someday, it'll bring me something wondrous, something that will make me fall in love with this country. maybe someday, i'll see its beauty instead the grim and the grit of citylife. someday... but not right now. -prescribed by- @11:10 PM -3 came for therapy session-
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Swallowed Whole
am sheltering myself once again from reality. too dreary right now.
drowning myself in video games. am redesigning my blog once again. might change it by friday. listening too much to sad music. wishing for security. wishing for safety. "am i desperately losing this fight when i should really be choosing my flight... what i wouldn't give just to forget, what i wouldn't give to get some rest... so i can remember how to live again. i want to live again." |
 
i'm a twenty-something dreamer and wannabe writer. currently living in Hong Kong
with the husband, the daughter and the dog.
for more illuminating tidbits about me, click here! if you want to read some of my deepest, darkest thoughts, click here! *xtessa feels  !*
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