Lately, these airlines have been playing neck-and-neck to capture the modern-day nomads' attention.
- Cebu Pacific is back with its zero fare promo for trips to Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur) and some local destinations as well as low-fare deals for trips to People's Republic of China.
- Philippine Airlines has partnered with Uniquely Singapore and are offering round trips to Singapore for as low as US$98.
- Asian Spirit is selling airfare tickets to Boracay or Busuanga for Php9++.
Sigh... Up to now I still can't finalize my travel plans.
BTW, most of these deals expire tomorrow - 31 May 2008.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Pass me the bucket...
Movie Review: When Love Begins
When Love Begins
Leads: Anne Curtis and Aga Mulach
Director: Jose Javier Reyes
Producer: Star Cinema
A few reminders:
1. SPOILER ALERT! There, I warned you.
2. Note that what follows are my perceptions. This is my blog after all. Your experience may likely be different from mine and I respect that.
They marketed this movie as a "feel-good" movie but it was anything like that. At the end of the screening I felt robbed of the measly $3 and more importantly, my time. The movie felt more like a showcase of fully made-up actors (and obviously aging ones), their clothes and obvious product endorsements with a marginally decent plot that dared to talk down to its audience.
Setting the stage: The movie was set in Boracay (see my blog's banner) (beach, bars, diners) and Manila (office, home, golf course) during this decade. I’ve a few questions though. Where do you find beach combers without tan lines after a week or so at the beach? It must have been some ultra strength sun block lotion they were using… Where do you find beach combers with full make up and not a hair out of place?
Character development: At first, I thought the character of the lead woman would be the saving grace. For the most part of the film, you could forget the beautiful actress and actually see a typical modern Filipina in Mich. Noteworthy were the quips that Mich delivered in her scenes with Ben when they were discussing the nuances of their pseudo-relationship (although the slight twang in both characters' voices was irritating at times). However, the way Mich acted at the end of the movie was totally out of character. Forget about Ben’s lines. I mean really, you won’t remember any of them.
Mich (Anne Curtis) was an independent-minded tweener who was mature for her age. She was a balikbayan and testing the waters for a life in Manila as an assistant vice president for marketing in their real-estate family business. She met Ben while practicing calisthenics in Boracay. Go figure.
Ben (Aga Mulach) was a lawyer-turned-bum, I mean non-specific (clueless?) environmental NGO advocate, who was too sophomoric for his age. He got disillusioned after winning a case and later finding out some gruesome details so he went into environmental conservation. Either that or he just needed a reason to be bumming in Boracay that much with loads of dough to spare and lots of bodies to watch. What was he, forty? Hello D.O.M.!
The supporting cast was forgettable, save for the performances of Mich’s father (Christopher De Leon) and Ben’s mother (Boots Anson-Roa). There were characters that the movie could do without; case in point, Ben’s nephew who was always eating and didn’t say a word, and the extra friends/relatives/officemates of the leads, for whom support meant going with the flow or giving a couple of one-liners. For instance, for the life of me I can’t remember the assistant's face but i know that there was a character in librarian garb with a nice pair who told Mich that the subdivision's launching event was cancelled.
The scene where Ben’s brother asks him to step out of their mother’s hospital room was weird. I thought they were about to discuss their plans for their mom, but instead they talked about business. Were the brothers really that cold-hearted?
Plot, or the lack of it: The love story goes like this. Boy meets girl in Boracay. Girl leaves boy for work. Boy accidentally bumps into girl in party in Manila. Boy and girl say no to commitment but foster a pseudo relationship. Family drama enters (parents, work). Conflict of family interests keeps boy and girl apart. Girl and boy almost meet each other again. Girl makes a complete 180° seeks out boy. Boy and girl and live happily ever after!?!
The nerd in me got irked with how they poorly they developed the sub-plot on the real-estate case. Mich’s dad was developing a subdivision. When they were about to do some preliminary land readjustments that will affect three barangays, they were met by opposition from one of the barangays and Ben’s environment NGO. Apparently, the development would affect part of the river and a fraction of the forest. The suggestion of an upcoming launch and open house suggested that the company had gotten the necessary permits from the government, which may include an approved environmental compliance certificate. Why the real estate company lost the case was still an enigma.
Cinematography and editing: The beach looks great, we got that. However, there were a tad too many montage scenes and as mentioned earlier, it almost became a string of product placements with one logo showing after the next.
There were some weird shots too. There was a scene where Ben was discussing something with his NGO buddies. Ben says his line and the camera focused on him, but when the rest of the group was talking, their faces were blurred!
The verdict: For a supposedly feel good movie, I felt agitated and disappointed after watching this waste-of-time with big-name billing. Totally forgettable and LUGI!!!
Tapos malaman-laman ko pang ipapalabas nila ‘to sa Seattle? Ewan! Bucket please!
When Love Begins
Leads: Anne Curtis and Aga Mulach
Director: Jose Javier Reyes
Producer: Star Cinema
A few reminders:
1. SPOILER ALERT! There, I warned you.
2. Note that what follows are my perceptions. This is my blog after all. Your experience may likely be different from mine and I respect that.
They marketed this movie as a "feel-good" movie but it was anything like that. At the end of the screening I felt robbed of the measly $3 and more importantly, my time. The movie felt more like a showcase of fully made-up actors (and obviously aging ones), their clothes and obvious product endorsements with a marginally decent plot that dared to talk down to its audience.
Setting the stage: The movie was set in Boracay (see my blog's banner) (beach, bars, diners) and Manila (office, home, golf course) during this decade. I’ve a few questions though. Where do you find beach combers without tan lines after a week or so at the beach? It must have been some ultra strength sun block lotion they were using… Where do you find beach combers with full make up and not a hair out of place?
Character development: At first, I thought the character of the lead woman would be the saving grace. For the most part of the film, you could forget the beautiful actress and actually see a typical modern Filipina in Mich. Noteworthy were the quips that Mich delivered in her scenes with Ben when they were discussing the nuances of their pseudo-relationship (although the slight twang in both characters' voices was irritating at times). However, the way Mich acted at the end of the movie was totally out of character. Forget about Ben’s lines. I mean really, you won’t remember any of them.
Mich (Anne Curtis) was an independent-minded tweener who was mature for her age. She was a balikbayan and testing the waters for a life in Manila as an assistant vice president for marketing in their real-estate family business. She met Ben while practicing calisthenics in Boracay. Go figure.
Ben (Aga Mulach) was a lawyer-turned-bum, I mean non-specific (clueless?) environmental NGO advocate, who was too sophomoric for his age. He got disillusioned after winning a case and later finding out some gruesome details so he went into environmental conservation. Either that or he just needed a reason to be bumming in Boracay that much with loads of dough to spare and lots of bodies to watch. What was he, forty? Hello D.O.M.!
The supporting cast was forgettable, save for the performances of Mich’s father (Christopher De Leon) and Ben’s mother (Boots Anson-Roa). There were characters that the movie could do without; case in point, Ben’s nephew who was always eating and didn’t say a word, and the extra friends/relatives/officemates of the leads, for whom support meant going with the flow or giving a couple of one-liners. For instance, for the life of me I can’t remember the assistant's face but i know that there was a character in librarian garb with a nice pair who told Mich that the subdivision's launching event was cancelled.
The scene where Ben’s brother asks him to step out of their mother’s hospital room was weird. I thought they were about to discuss their plans for their mom, but instead they talked about business. Were the brothers really that cold-hearted?
Plot, or the lack of it: The love story goes like this. Boy meets girl in Boracay. Girl leaves boy for work. Boy accidentally bumps into girl in party in Manila. Boy and girl say no to commitment but foster a pseudo relationship. Family drama enters (parents, work). Conflict of family interests keeps boy and girl apart. Girl and boy almost meet each other again. Girl makes a complete 180° seeks out boy. Boy and girl and live happily ever after!?!
The nerd in me got irked with how they poorly they developed the sub-plot on the real-estate case. Mich’s dad was developing a subdivision. When they were about to do some preliminary land readjustments that will affect three barangays, they were met by opposition from one of the barangays and Ben’s environment NGO. Apparently, the development would affect part of the river and a fraction of the forest. The suggestion of an upcoming launch and open house suggested that the company had gotten the necessary permits from the government, which may include an approved environmental compliance certificate. Why the real estate company lost the case was still an enigma.
Cinematography and editing: The beach looks great, we got that. However, there were a tad too many montage scenes and as mentioned earlier, it almost became a string of product placements with one logo showing after the next.
There were some weird shots too. There was a scene where Ben was discussing something with his NGO buddies. Ben says his line and the camera focused on him, but when the rest of the group was talking, their faces were blurred!
The verdict: For a supposedly feel good movie, I felt agitated and disappointed after watching this waste-of-time with big-name billing. Totally forgettable and LUGI!!!
Tapos malaman-laman ko pang ipapalabas nila ‘to sa Seattle? Ewan! Bucket please!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
looking for ruby slippers
"i'm off to see the wizard - the wonderful wizard of oz." - dorothy, "the wizard of oz"
...well not him exactly, but some other beautiful people a.k.a my relatives.
my boss and i were discussing my work plan last week and we found out that i only had 1 vacation week out of 3 weeks of uncommitted (free) time for the next nine months!!! of course, as soon as i found this out, i rang my bff's to schedule an emergency meeting to discuss our travel plans.
we were thinking of going to kuala lumpur, singapore, bangkok and/or macau but then just last weekend, i got wind of another option - going to australia.
i'm still checking out if i had enough time to process the papers to get there within the next three weeks. otherwise, it's back to the southeast asian hop.
right now, the weather bureau says it's sunny. let's hope it stays that way 'til we get there.
as for the ruby slippers, i still haven't found a pair. i might settle for my blood red toenails instead and my fave flipflops.
...well not him exactly, but some other beautiful people a.k.a my relatives.
my boss and i were discussing my work plan last week and we found out that i only had 1 vacation week out of 3 weeks of uncommitted (free) time for the next nine months!!! of course, as soon as i found this out, i rang my bff's to schedule an emergency meeting to discuss our travel plans.
we were thinking of going to kuala lumpur, singapore, bangkok and/or macau but then just last weekend, i got wind of another option - going to australia.
i'm still checking out if i had enough time to process the papers to get there within the next three weeks. otherwise, it's back to the southeast asian hop.
right now, the weather bureau says it's sunny. let's hope it stays that way 'til we get there.
as for the ruby slippers, i still haven't found a pair. i might settle for my blood red toenails instead and my fave flipflops.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
boob bug
Two nights ago, I was waiting for my ride home when a bug attacked me out of nowhere. The thing went straight into my black button down shirt right smack between my rack.
For a while I just stood there shocked out of my wits and with goose bumps all over my nape. I had no idea what was wriggling between the girls; no idea either on how I might fish it out. It was the evening traffic rush hour and there's just no way I could take that bug away from me inconspicuously among the sea of people and vehicles.
Somehow I managed to take it out.
However, I was so freaked out I didn't even look to see what it was. The only thing I remembered was that it was black and about the size of a tic tac.
Ewww!!!!
For a while I just stood there shocked out of my wits and with goose bumps all over my nape. I had no idea what was wriggling between the girls; no idea either on how I might fish it out. It was the evening traffic rush hour and there's just no way I could take that bug away from me inconspicuously among the sea of people and vehicles.
Somehow I managed to take it out.
However, I was so freaked out I didn't even look to see what it was. The only thing I remembered was that it was black and about the size of a tic tac.
Ewww!!!!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
insomnia
my lids are heavy
but i cannot sleep
random thoughts
of desire and need
what i'd give
to stop and ponder
what will make me
go to slumber
-February 27, 2004 0009h
---
I saw this scribbled in my tiny notebook that I've had for about a decade now. It's been four years since I last wrote on this thing and the note above was the last entry. I guess I haven't found the cure to my sleeplessness.
but i cannot sleep
random thoughts
of desire and need
what i'd give
to stop and ponder
what will make me
go to slumber
-February 27, 2004 0009h
---
I saw this scribbled in my tiny notebook that I've had for about a decade now. It's been four years since I last wrote on this thing and the note above was the last entry. I guess I haven't found the cure to my sleeplessness.
Friday, May 2, 2008
what's in my bag
A couple of days back, I was on my way home when my officemate stopped and asked me, "Iyan lang ang dala mo? (pointing to my 5"x8" handbag)" (translation: Is that all you're taking with you?).
"Why, yes, this is all - cellfone, wallet - what else do i need?", I replied.
I added, "I brought my gym bag with me earlier, but I don't feel like going to the gym now."
It's not unusual for women to bring all sorts of things to the office. What you find in a lady's bag are what she considers essential.
Aside from the customary cellphone, wallet, and keys, these are the things that would make me go home even if I'm halfway towards work.
1. company ID - top of the list
2. bank cards (ATM card / credit cards)
3. headphones - for tuning to the radio; zoning out
4. shades - gotta protect my 20/20 vision; also good for feigning sleep / warding off chatty seatmates
5. mascara / facepowder / eyeliner - because you don't always look like you've slept for 12 hours
6. lipcolor - especially for iron-deficient gals
7. pen - for that spur-of-the-moment ideas; autograph-signing (hehehe)
how about you? what are the top five essential things in your bag?
"Why, yes, this is all - cellfone, wallet - what else do i need?", I replied.
I added, "I brought my gym bag with me earlier, but I don't feel like going to the gym now."
It's not unusual for women to bring all sorts of things to the office. What you find in a lady's bag are what she considers essential.
Aside from the customary cellphone, wallet, and keys, these are the things that would make me go home even if I'm halfway towards work.
1. company ID - top of the list
2. bank cards (ATM card / credit cards)
3. headphones - for tuning to the radio; zoning out
4. shades - gotta protect my 20/20 vision; also good for feigning sleep / warding off chatty seatmates
5. mascara / facepowder / eyeliner - because you don't always look like you've slept for 12 hours
6. lipcolor - especially for iron-deficient gals
7. pen - for that spur-of-the-moment ideas; autograph-signing (hehehe)
how about you? what are the top five essential things in your bag?
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