fast fingers, and a close encounter with alex compton

Fast fingers, the blog, is here.

Am jotting this out right before logging out on my way to Makati Med. The mother-unit's bronchitis worsened to pneumonia over the weekend and she's now confined there. Hoping she gets well soon, but am glad that she is at least getting some rest. Workaholic of a mom (after whom I did NOT take) has been working non-stop because of a lot of reorganizations, system implementations, and other changes in their office. This morning, though, she apparently spent an hour on the phone giving orders to her secretary, hoarse voice and everything... this mother of mine!

Another hospital visit over the weekend, to Bespren M's dad. Tito R. had gastrointestinal bleeding, not helped by the fact that he's already undergoing dialysis. Went with good samaritan Carlo, who was willing to donate blood. Once there I saw M's two sisters and little brother (not so little anymore, binata na!). And then Alex Compton arrived. Apparently he's a friend of M's other sister and was also there to donate blood. Unfortunately, Carlo and Alex were rejected as donors because of anti-tetanus shots and an recent operation, respectively. More unfortunately: I was not introduced to Alex Compton! (The time he was there I was visiting Tito R at the ICU.) Grr. Hehe.

The bowling tournament is over, finally. Now we're on to the Christmas party. We are pencil-booked at The Loft, Hard Rock and Tavern. Time to move!

Missed the HS class's equivalent of the society wedding of the year. DnA's wedding remains closest to my heart, though. Too bad I wasn't able to make it, since marental was already in the hospital then.

Last Song Syndrome : Plush - Stone Temple Pilots

anticipation

Movies to watch out for:
Wimbledon - Paul Bettany is a skidding tennis player and Kirsten Dunst plays a tennis golden girl. Set amidst the traditional and well-loved Wimbledon courts and tournament.

Without a Paddle - Seth “love-pa-rin-kita-Oz” Green and Matthew “Shaggy” Lillard on a sometimes distasteful but funny camping trip-cum-journey of discovery.

I Heart Huckabees - Jude Law and Naomi Watts lead a wonderful ensemble ironing out existential issues, including Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Isabelle Huppert, Jason Schwartzman and Mark Wahlberg. Tippi Hedren and Shania Twain have cameos.

Vanity Fair - Reese Witherspoon plays Becky Sharp in the film adaptation of Thackeray’s classic novel, supported by such notables as Jim Broadbent, Bob Hoskins, and Natasha Little (who played Becky in a miniseries adaptation of Vanity Fair a few years back). To watch out for are Rhys Ifans in a serious turn far removed from his usual buffoonery and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who is just, plain and simple, nice to watch. Teehee.

Last Song Syndrome : Storms in Africa - Enya

oh yeah

I've forgotten that about The Casual Watcher. I've posted about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Traci Lords on Oprah since the last time. On Eternal Sunshine: I absolutely adored this movie. On Traci Lords: this woman rocks! (And I don't mean in a porn-queen sort of way.)

Last Song Syndrome : Love is Strange - Everything But The Girl

i'm a fanatic

Been listening to a lot of Yahoo!LaunchCast lately, since the speakers were transferred to my PC from Maleen's. The little OC strain I have in me prompts me to rate the music as I go along. Which is great because they keep on playing the songs, artists and albums that I rate "Can't Get Enough", including the following artists. I have done more than 1,000 ratings and I am now a "fanatic". Not that I was trying. I guess that sums me up nicely though. The next level is "addict". Hmmmm, interesting.


However, right now it is playing an unrated song, William Hung's Free. Blecch. "Never play again." With exclamation!

Last Song Syndrome : Free - William Hung

laking national

Finally went to National and rummaged through the PhP99 hardbound books. (Paperbacks are cheaper at Powerbooks, 20% off.) Came through with the following:

• Far Horizons - a collection of sci-fi short stories by some of the masters, including editor Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, and Ursula K. LeGuin. Prized find. Now I have to find a nice matching copy of Legends. Until Legends 3.
  
• Jeffrey Archer's To Cut A Long Story Short - admittedly his career is in the doldrums, but I bought this for old times' sake. I want to see if he's still the master storyteller he used to be. Somewhat prized find, if only to add to the Archer collection on my bookshelf. Will probably not compare to A Twist in The Tale, though.
  
• Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland - one of my favorite authors. Been meaning to get a copy of Miss Wyoming for the longest time (one of the few of his works that I don't have). Apparently this is a sign. Another prized find. (However, someone seems to be selling this at $0.05 used at Amazon. Oh well.)
  
• Storyteller's Collection - a collection of Christian short stories. Will read through it to see if I can give it to my ninang, who is in remission from cancer. (After reading the amazon.com reviews, though, I think this is better off with my pastor-officemate.)
  
• What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage - a stirring story involving AIDS. Okay, so it's on Oprah's book club. A good book will surpass any cheesy plugging. Teehee.
  
• The Nanny Diaries - for a little fun on my end. Promises to be quite juicy. Perfect for being stuck in lines.
  
• The Shadow of Albion by Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill - Book 1 of Carolus Rex. Seems like interesting historical fantasy. Who knows, I might start to love this series.
  
• Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell - adding to my small but growing collection about old Britain and that ring of stones.
  
• Children Are From Heaven by John Gray - a gift for DnA. (Seems to be quite a while before I will be needing this.)
  

Last Song Syndrome : I'm Sensitive - Jewel

I have this theory that if we're told we're bad
Then that's the only idea we'll ever have
But maybe if we are surrounded in beauty
Someday we will become what we see

something i've known all along

Take the What High School
Stereotype Are You? quiz.

Last Song Syndrome : If I Am - Nine Days

we should never let the sun set on tomorrow
before the sun rises

deer caught in the headlights

Chill Babe is this pretty girl I know. Yeah, I guess I consider her a friend. She's the right blend of pretty and disarming that both girls and guys like her and aren't threatened by her. Anyway, Chill Babe and Co-conspirator (conspiratorial story was previously blogged here) seem to be an item now.

I guess I was expecting it, but when I received pseudo-confirmation from Chill Babe I sensed my reaction was that of a deer caught in the headlights of a fast approaching car. Maybe I wanted to justify that Co-conspirator wasn't ready to commit to another person--resulting in the conspiracy. I know it wasn't anything deeper, but it was quite a letdown to be faced pointblank with the fact that it really wasn't anything. I realize that he probably wanted Chill Babe all along and when Chill Babe suddenly became single, he saw the opportunity.

I'm not hurt, just particularly perplexed. And crossing my fingers that Chill Babe will be the one to tame the Co-conspirator. Am glad that I get to close that short insane episode.

-oOo-

Meanwhile, it seems that a security camera has been installed on our floor. It's supposed to prevent unsavory characters from doing anything, well, unsavory on our floor, but it seems to be portents of Big Brother. Am more concerned about Spyware though, because the camera (if it is indeed a camera and not a fire alarm) cannot pick up my monitor. Malay ba nilang nagba-blog ako.

Last Song Syndrome : Upside Down - Fra Lippo Lippi/2 Minds Crack

my inner child

Got this from Patty.

My inner child is ten years old!

The adult world is pretty irrelevant to me. Whether
I'm off on my bicycle (or pony) exploring, lost
in a good book, or giggling with my best
friend, I live in a world apart, one full of
adventure and wonder and other stuff adults
don't understand.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

Last Song Syndrome : Miss Jackson - OutKast

blogger's block

It's so easy to say that being in charge of the office bowling tournament and getting quite sick (first with dysmenorrhea and then with a nasty case of the flu) prevented me from blogging. But I know better. I could have written down a couple of lines from time to time but I just really didn't feel like doing so. Anyway, I seem to be back. Seem is the imperative word.

not paavo's replacement
A few days before Paavo left, the father-unit brought this little kiddie home for want of a foster home. She's not Paavo's replacement but still cute nonetheless. Her capers are a welcome reprieve from stress-filled days and she's still cute enough to get away with them. Meet Mocha.


Last Song Syndrome : Let's Get Retarded - Black Eyed Peas

some template changes

Made some changes to the template to get out of the blogger rut I've been in the past week. I've removed the Pic of the Week (not much time to go out and shoot pictures anyway); added the links to Soloflite and Zane's blogs; and added icons for Ina's Filipino Blogs listing as well as Fast Fingers--a PinoySlayer blog. I've also changed the Tag-Board into a Chatterbox/Flooble thingy because the blog wasn't loading with the Tag-Board.

Last Song Syndrome : Where Is The Love? - Black Eyed Peas