Book Review: "Death Match"

Somebody left this book in the Mabuhay Lounge where I got in by some twist of fate. Holy Thursday had me bumped off a 9:30 am flight from Manila to Cebu because PAL apparently overbooked...but they kindly offered to put me in business class on a 3 pm flight..so 7 ours of waiting time hardly seemed such a bad concept. I got placed in the Mabuhay Lounge and got paid for my ticket...and while I was munching on the free food and swallowing all the beverages there, I came across this abandoned book on one of the cabinets...

Eden, Incorporated is a company who has a somewhat unbelievable state-of-the-art computer dating system. For $25,000 smackeroos, a single person can find a life partner using Eden's superlative matching system which is all hush-hush and involves a battallion of tests (IQ, psychological, physical etc.) Sometimes, as fate would have it, there are a few matches which end up with a "supercouple", meaning the match is 100 percent perfect match for man and woman. And the subsequent marriage is the envy of all the people surrounding the couple (but the employees of Eden of course are euphoric about it) since it seems that the pair are really soulmates (am green with envy myself at this point). But then one supercouple is found dead by double-suicide (apparently they put dry cleaning bags over their heads, embraced and suffocated in front of their infant daughter, how inconsiderate!), and Eden Inc. has the brilliant idea of hiring ex-FBI forensic psychologist Christopher Lash to investigate what led to such a tragic end. Dr. Lash reluctantly puts his own private practice on hold (its lucrative too), but then he discovers that his ongoing investigation of the supercouple has unfurled and awakened ghosts from his own past, poor man.

Then! A second supercouple double-suicide happens and this puts Lash and Eden management in a flurry of panic. This time, I'll spare you the gory details. Dr. Silver, the brilliant scientist who invented the system, along with the enigmatic but childlike Liza team up to bring some names into play as to who could be the culprit and its (surprise!) a little twist when it comes to the ending...but then thats not really a surprise aint it?

I confess I had some suspicions already as to who was behind the manipulation however the slight twist as to the motivation was unexpected for me...imagine...hmmm....and to think I work in IT...and used to love Isaac Asimov's books and his three laws. Oh well.

Anyway, I will not put any spoilers here because there might be some people who will not like it (unlike moi! I love, love spoilers and I always read the ending part of the book first..if I like it, I buy the book...hehehe). But feel free to email me to ask about it if you prefer.

I am writing this review to encourage all the other souls out there who might be looking for their life partner - don't put all your hope into the hands of other people! If you want something, don't just stand there and wait for a dating service..my goodness..go out and get her or him yourself!

While I liked the book, I didn't like the idea of a perfect partner...although its certainly incredible that you can find a person you jive along perfectly on all other aspects, I think its best to have a little friction now and then between couples.

One part of the story was in consonance with what I had been exposed to in one of our elective subjects in grad school. It was about how supposedly an experiment was conducted, wherein a woman sniffed the tshirt of other guys and got attracted to the tshirt smell of the guy who had the least common genes with her. Hmmmm....I forgot what it was called, but it does make sense...if all for the genes/offspring that might result from such an auspicious smell..I mean beginning.

Go ahead and read this book! I also like to think there's a guy out there who I can get along with famously (but then, there are only a few guys I really butt heads with nowadays so thats not such a good indicator) and its heartwarming to see how the ways people in search of love and their other half hold a beacon for us lesser-fortunate ones.

This is not a Pulitzer prize winning book IMHO but it certainly was entertaining and the circumstances for my waiting for my flight didn't seem so bad after all. I mean, I got fed, watered, placed in an air-conditioned room, upgraded to B-class, got paid for my fare, and got to read this thriller. Not bad for a Holy Thursday...life certainly throws you suprises when you least expect it..

- Apr 13, '07 12:38 AM

Movie Review: "300" (4 Stars)

Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

*puts hands up in surrender and then swoons ala Southern belle style in the hope one of the manly Spartans will catch me* ouch!

I admit..I really watched the movie more for the eye candy it provided me than for anything else. So what? Who can blame me when you've got more than an hour of sitting through a spread of delectable hunka-licious men all battling it out for the glory of their country (ahu!, ahu!!, ahu!!!) and for the free man's rights.

I'm not going to put a summary of the story, or discuss in detail the actors since this will turn out to be a very long review if I do so..but be warned though, the movie IS based on a comic book (Frank Miller's graphic novel) and so please do expect some unrealistic and cooly surreal scenes once in a while. The story has also been tweaked...it is supposed to be based on a real battle but of course its been given the dramatic, over-the-top treatment sometimes...I'm sure there were no ghastly, misshapen creatures that Xerxes managed to conjure from somewhere in his kingdom (except for the big elephants maybe) and from what I know of Persians I don't think the God-king Xerxes would look like the way he did (never mind, he is still drool-worthy *ehem*).

Suffice to say I've chosen as my first ever review this movie since I...deigned to fork over a goodly amount of Philippine pesos just to sit through ONE (I tell you, just one!) sitting of this movie...when normally I'd get my money's worth by reviewing a movie I especially liked at least twice!

Greek mythology was a favorite of mine since elementary days..and I recall we even formed a club and our code names were some Greek goddesses (hehehe, guess who I was...and no its not the goddess of love...phoo!), hence I never miss out on any movie which has touched on the Greek myths and legends.

The scenes do appealed to the gallery. I always liked science fiction because of the special effects used, and in here, though it can't be categorized really as sci-fi, one of my fave scenes was the particular one about the beautiful, nubile, young Oracle doing some amazing, swaying moves as she woved and contorted her scantily-clad body about in a sort of drunken prophetic daze. Getting licked by a gruesome creature afterwards was no picnic though. (I wonder what would happen if we dress the way the Greeks dressed here in the Philippines? its certainly hot enough now to warrant that kind of attire).

I liked the script...Leonidas traded witty, dry repartee with Xerxes..and some uttered lines (though a bit obvious) from different characters still had a very good effect of making titters pop out from the audience's mouth once in a while. Xerxes looked very different from the actor underneath the makeup (he played one of the villains in Charlie's Angels 2) and thanks again to movie magic, he towered above our good ole King Leonidas.

All the blood flying about made me think about "Kill Bill" and Uma Thurman. But I liked the latter..probably because I lean more towards Japanese style hack-and-chop scenes with the sword than with the spearing action here. But, the balletic grace and moves of the fight scenes were simply divine! I liked seing slow-mo effects of soldiers beheading and stabbing people repeatedly as if they were skewering marshmallows..yummy! (uhm..sorry if that came out wrong).

One thing I am also reminded of are the tactics in the book "The Art of War" when I first heard Leonidas explain his plan to hold off the invading army. That narrow valley or gorge is a good application of how one holds off enemies of a vast number, essentially rendering their numbers of little consequence. Logically though (blame the left brain and too much analyzing!), I wondered why they didn't do anything about the weakness of the separate path where the Persians could then outflank the Greek fighters...oh well...*shrug*...then it would have dragged on and on...and the director would have no heart-stirring ending.

Bottom line is, yes, go and watch this movie if you have a fondness for anime, comic books, graphic novels, gym regular hunks, bishounen, blood spurts (hmm..blood sports?) and such. I liked "Kill Bill" and Akira Kurosawa's movies so I guess its natural I gravitated towards this too. I wish the effects were less obvious...it looks too smooth sometimes...

Afterwards, I ran to the bookstore and read Neil Gaiman's "Season of Mists" in the Sandman library. That is also one cool series...I wonder if they will ever make it into a series of movies like HP (Harry Potter) or even a tv series one of these days? Hmm...even some cartoon series is fine with me...

Wahoo!! Not bad for a Saturday lazy meandering around Greenbelt area eh?

P.S. trivia: "ahou" in Japanese means "idiot"...its just that when I heard the Spartan's battle cry, which sounded suspiciously like this (ahu!) if given the kind of sudden and strong intonation...I suddenly, uncontrollably snickered...and I became the recipient of weird looks from my fellow movie-goers. Good thing it was dark, coz I stuck my tongue out at them (at the audience or at the actors?)...\(^_^)/ 

- Mar 26, '07 10:59 PM

Today is my own Groundhog day

I just wanted to write down how I felt earlier yesterday, my first day in another job, another company, another set of people to work with, another set of rules to live by and another risk taken. I've moved from company to company since I've started working at age 19 and an orientation in a new company may seem like something to become jaded about...but there is always an element of excitement for me, no matter how many times I've gone through it.

For now I will hold off talking about this current company of mine since I've yet to see how it goes and prove to myself how I can handle this major change. Some would say I must be mad, trading off something familiar with something uncertain, regardless of how the company's brand stand out, and I can probably hear about the line in playing to your strengths instead of going after the weaknesses. Of course, having the company's office within walking distance of one's domicile is a plus factor!

Not only was the environment, the culture I've heard about, and the first day of orientation group dynamics good enough to make me happy about my decision to take the plunge. While watching a couple of videos about the company,about the antics of its people (Ngek! may spoof pa kay GMA, and The Ring, complete with authentic Japanese dialogue subtitles, made by the employees and starring the employees and which pokes fun about the work they do, makes you wonder if they just do videos the whole day!), it made me teary-eyed, metaphorically speaking of course.

I got reminded me of the videos and case studies about this company in B-school.

As I walked back home, all I could recall after the day was done was of how one of the major founders emphasized how important it was to take risks. He said it more magically than I ever could, but the idea was the same.

This line reverberated inside me as I walked home. To think that they put themselves at risk to do something which would turn out to make things better for people, that is something I would like to do myself again and again. I've tried to start something like this in my previous companies and although it's not in the magnitude of these guys but it's humbling to think I may have the measure of success they have in the future, who knows?

It is inspiring, it is terrifying to step up to the plate, but in the end, if one surpasses that particular hurdle, no other feeling can compare with it. And to see, years later how one's particular actions inspired other people and practically spawned an entire new paradigm...all I can say is..."wow, awesome, coolness!"

- Mar 2, '07 1:37 AM

Countdown to the New Year (2007), in Makati City

Makati City, Philippines, 31st Dec, 2006 -  I was torn between free food (but for the difficulty in finding a taxi) at an aunt's far far away and the concert and booths in Ayala corner Paseo de Roxas in Makati City.

The latter won the contest as to where to spend New Year's eve by a hair's breadth (thanks to the difficulty in finding a taxi willing to ferry us to that far far away place)...

Makati is still a small place, or it could really be because its the center of action. The same with Mall of Asia. - I still bumped into two developers from my current company in the midst of the large crowd which gathered at this junction.

OPM was emphasized and enjoyed with such bands as Imago, Itchy Worms, Rocksteddy, Sandwich etc. etc. (sayang walang sandwich na binigay!).
All the activities and booths were for a good cause, proceeds and donations were to be given to the victims of the recent typhoons (though if you ask me, some of the organizations could have donated more you know *wink*)

I had a couple of funny experiences that night, but all in all, it wasn't a bad end to 2006! Sure, its inevitable that fun was poked at the single people in the crowd, and yung mga may "sungay" but hey, I had 20 minutes of fireworks to look forward to that night.



- Jan 2, '07 12:59 AM

Harbor Bay, Roxas Blvd, Post Xmas 2006

Paranaque, Philippines, 26th December 2006 - After Christmas Day (which we spent either cleaning or sleeping), spent the day at Roxas Blvd...from Harbor Square to Baywalk, to Mall of Asia.

- Dec 28, '06 10:01 PM

Tagaytay Twilights (1.5/2 )

November 25, 2006 (Ortigas) – Skimming across a google alert email this very early morning, I came across the news that the Taal lake volcano spewed mud. (I fell asleep and woke up on the office couch so the first step is a checking of emails of course! who cares about washing faces?).

I have been quite remiss in not writing down about the second day of my most recent visit to Tagaytay.Since I am so forgetful nowadays, I’ve resolved to try re-capturing how I spent the November 12, 2006 (Saturday) of my life. I have posted pictures of that day somewhere here on the site, so they present a more complete visual representation of how the day progressed.

November 12, 2006 (Tagaytay)………..

So where was I? Oh yeah….the last time I wrote about this visit… I said I went off to sleep in the cold, fresh air of Tagaytay, and to the sound of a goat bleating sporadically.

The next day…I woke up to the sound of….uhm…cars? trucks? vehicles?…whizzing by….on the main road…

You thought perhaps I’d be saying something like waking up to roosters crowing or the mooing of a cow or the baying of a dog? No sirree! Inexorably, a crowded metropolis Tagaytay is going to be by the look of things. Maybe not in the next 5 years, but I’ve learned not to underestimate people and their steady conquering of the untouched land….*grin*

Sir B added a personal touch to his hospitality by texting me about breakfast (yours truly was ensconced with a pillow and blanket, and Sir B was probably puttering about the house – hmm..I only found out later he is also the janitor of this lovely place..so maybe he was already cleaning? hehehe). Although it sounds as if his home had rooms scattered from one end of the castle to the other its not that really. We are just high-tech people, see? (^_^)

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day. To start the day right, we drove off to have breakfast at…where else..but “Breakfast at Antonio’s” (I thought it should have been named Breakfast at Tiffany’s you know…as a tribute…to the movie)…

A couple of guys were apparently touring around on their motorbikes (not Harley-Davidsons though) and were just coming out of the restaurant. The place brought to my mind the patios or porches (?) of Southern US plantations, with screens and ferns and high ceilings. I was more interested in their menu so I took the whole scene at a glance and plopped on a chair immediately. After sharing two omelettes (spinach and feta cheese for me!), I had my own sweet crepe (I think it was apple and cinnamon for my order) and cup of tea (English breakfast naturally, but no milk this time), and then we set off for Sonya’s Garden.

Wow! Wow! Wow! Aside from the wonderful scents emanating from somewhere on the property, the blooming flowers and flowering shrubs (?), as well as the rustic cottages, there were also quaint shops and structures strewn about (bakery, open-air function room and cottages with pillows and mats, shop selling scents and other natural stuff were what I could remember).

The place was conducive to meditation, and the tinkling of the water plopping and splashing was one of my favorite sounds. A bit expensive for my pocketbook when I got their listing of rates, but good enough for me to say that I would like to come back someday to try it out and have the whole enchilada of experience in staying at this place, even if its just an overnight stay.

Since Sonya’s (see pictures posted) is a bit far from the madding crowd we drove back to the main road and passed on the roadside a place called Residence Inn. We did not go inside anymore but If I recall correctly, this was one of the places I visited when I had my first ever visit to Tagaytay..all the way back in 1995. The R.I. is still around, with its zoo and other offerings. I remember I had a picture taken with a male peacock (its tail displayed in lordly splendor). Well, the particular peacock is probably not around anymore, but this is my third visit to Tagaytay and I can certainly appreciate how the place has not really changed that drastically.

Our target after Sonya’s Garden was the Cliff House. Remember the shirt?

The shop selling the souvenir shirts was finally open, and I bought the same t-shirt which I had seen Sir B wear the other night. While I liked the other shirts of Malang and BenCab (like the one of a man playing a guitar, with a cigarette dangling around on either his lips or was it his other hand?), I thought this was the most colorful and attractive shirt of the lot. A whopping P400 for a large tshirt is not conducive to buying in volume such goods hehehe…not even as Christmas gifts for the whole bunch of people I know. So, am a Scrooge in that aspect (^_^)

I took more pictures of the nude sketches in the shop (from the outside this time because it was forbidden to do it inside the shop, I wonder why?) and the fog-strewn area surrounding Cliff House. Sir B then drove us off in the other direction. We passed by enthusiastic hawkers peddling boat rides on Taal Lake. I would have been tempted too, but with the fog and not-so-sunny weather, I didn’t go for it. Besides it takes the better part of the day for the trekking and the boat ride to really appreciate it.

We passed by Crosswinds. See pictures posted on this. Basically talked to an agent of Brittany Corp (they have Porto Fino in Alabang, check out their site – www.britanny.com.ph if I am not mistaken) and and we went on a tour of the place. With numerous pine trees and gentle slopes, it was a peaceful setting..reminiscent of some Swiss mountain/Heidi-inspired story. I enjoyed going around, but considering my present circumstances, I’d really rather be living in the city.

We visited the pool area while there was a light drizzle of rain. I took more shots of the place, had an exploratory talk with Jackie the agent (sounds like a spy story ha?) and then Sir B and I proceeded to have coffee at where else? Starbucks.

Since I am on serious campaign to get all 21 drinks in exchange for their planner/diary/trick-the-customer-into-buying-more item, we carted off hot drinks and some snacks. I wandered out afterwards to look at the lake and volcano.

*Sigh* I just couldn’t get good shots enough to satisfy myself. Probably a more talented photographer or a more sophisticated camera would have done wonders with the scenery that time, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Older people like yours truly have to rest from such rigorous activities *cough, cough*, so we went back to the house and I had my siesta (a luxury) while Sir B practiced on his set of drums. I took more shots of the interior of the house….I really liked their shiny wooden floors wherein even flies probably slide off the floor to bounce off the legs of their furniture.The cleanliness and orderliness as well the funkiness of the decor was something to think about back on my bed as I dozed off.

There was photo exhibit at the Festival Mall of the Ayala-Alabang club of photographers by 6 pm so we ran off afterwards to view the results of this particular group of people. Sir B had earlier plonked a poinsettia (we both had trouble with its proper pronunciation hehehe) plant in the car and told me it was a gift since I apparently had no Christmas tree. I thanked him happily for this since I especially love its colors and it saved me having to buy christmas decoration, however I was a bit apprehensive….aren’t poinsettias supposed to grow into trees? *imagines 4 foot tall tree in 24 sq meter condo)….oh dear….

(tbc…Festival Mall exhibit of photos and going back to Manila the next day…)

- Nov 25, ’06 7:05 AM

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Going Forward into the Past

I may be getting too old for this..but..who cares?

Last week was almost a full-sked week as far as nights were concerned. Upon arriving from Tagaytay, I had to rush to appointments and what-have-you. I thought I'd settle down to a quiet, even pace when some unplanned activities popped up.

The weeknights started to become a social whirl as I received a surprise text from a close college friend of mine who happened to be in Cafe Breton in Greenbelt 3 on Wednesday night with his cousin and some friends. Since I arrived late at my home with an empty stomach, I definitely welcomed the change of pace and went off to join him for a plate of savoury crepe and strawberry milkshake at 11 in the evening.

I'm glad I kept to my diet of keeping my stomach fed and contented at all times. Sometimes I think my stomach will devour me (like a separate entity) when it growls in displeasure during these days. After a lot of ribbing from people all around...we split up and I arrived home at 2 am plus and slept contentedly....

Thursday night had me doing a phone conference with an US client from NY.
Whoever said BPO or outsourcing was the way to go apparently forgot that due to this kind of business, usual time schedules for us Filipinos get shot to bits. *Sigh* I hate working during evenings.

Since my fellow officer had a hankering for KTV...we hied off to ""Maru", one of the off-the-wall spots here in Emerald Avenue, Ortigas. It's just a stone's throw away from the office. We managed to rope in 4 of my current software developers plus 1 unsuspecting programmer from another project - and with 5 guys and 2 women, voices (raucous, loud, off-tune, hoarse, angelic or effiminate) peppered the room in "Maru".

Since it was my first time ever to sing karaoke and in a public place, I promised the group I would only sing if all of them had their turn at the mike..hehehe....what a goal ha? I think they might have rued the day I did so because I got 97 as a score..thank goodness you can cheat the system...*wink*

I don't really like singing in a public place..only in my room. I don't have a good voice. It's difficult being a soprano 2 - you can't reach the high notes, you can't go for the low notes. However at least I know when I am out of tune. I do miss the days when I learned to play the guitar. I wonder when I can learn to play the drums properly....

But I digress..

We broke up around 2 am plus (pattern na yata to) and went off our separate ways.

On Friday evening, our usual release for another US client was scheduled, plus preparations for looking over the material and presentation for the Strategic Planning session for 2007 had to be given some time. Consequently, I again left the office quite late...slept around 4:30 am...if the office had a shower room I'd probably have slept there too...

Got up 8 am since luckily the venue was in Renaissance (New World) hotel here in Makati, as straight as the crow flies from my current place. After some texting back and forth between developers I had expected to be present at the meeting, I finally gave up and dashed for a cup of coffee then went straight to the whole-day affair.

Only to realize after it finished, that I had a standing agreement to accompany my college buddy to Malate that night. Which I did although by that time I was feeling somewhat sleepy, not to mention groggy!

At 10 in the evening we dashed off to Cowboy Grill and since I didn't have any dinner, I just munched on garlic mushrooms and drank a Zombie.

Since our other companions were late, I helped him with the barrel of beer while listening to different bands playing songs e.g. Queen medleys, Guns N Roses...what can I say..Freddie Mercury rocks...3 bands swapped places a couple of times, and danceable tunes were also there, but I didn't dare to dance, it was already quite hot in the place. The other people arrived after Nyx and I drank 3/4 of the barrel.(ok, so he drank more than I did..I just had a couple of mugs)...

I couldn't bring in a camera and so I had to contend with laughing and taking a mental picture of couples who gyrated the night away. The only thing I can complain about is the smoke in such places..Coupled with my late nights and exhaustion, the smoke worsened my coughing fit.

Left around 4 am...looking for a place to eat...sadly a Chinese place recommended to be 24 hours was closed.

Split up with Vladimir (Mimi for short, don't ask me why) and his date...while my college bud and I had to go back to Makati. We gave up and settled for siopao at the mini-stop closest to my place. After some desultory talk about life in general and marvelling at how time passes (I've known this guy since he was 17! so that is more than half his life)...I kicked him at 5 am off the doorstep of the building I stayed in since I was a bit sleepy already (I regretted it bitterly afterwards since I forgot to take his share of the bill hehehe!).

I woke up 11 am...rats! can't I sleep in late? On Sunday..well with Sunday chores and overdue work for 1 of my US clients..I tried to sleep the day away but found out that my brain was too active...darn high energy levels sometimes....

A passing thought...one of these days I am going to write on my blog a series of entries paying tribute to the guys in my life who have contributed to my zaniness (is there such a word)...as I sit back and think back to these people and how they have become part of my life...I realize that I am a lucky girl. Of course, women (sisters, unite!) have also played a very big role in the formation of my entire being..so that is going to come up too...just as soon as I get some sleep..*yawn*....or not...since I just remembered I have to cook my pasta...

What can I say, I'm a twenty-six year old trapped in a 36-year old body...hahaha!

- Nov 20, '06 12:52 PM