Entry #260
“Dreams really do come true if you believe…”
Sixty frosh articles, a hundred and twenty-six sophomore journals, thirty junior posts and forty-three published senior entries. That made up nearly two hundred and sixty articles that made up the lifeline of The CSB Experience.
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As much as I was homesick back then during my year-long stay in a foreign country, adjusting to new surroundings was a really difficult task. There are things that I have to get used to like speaking English all the time (at least we could still speak Filipino within the household), getting used to the colder-than-cold climate and unseasonably unpredictable weather, and yes…overcoming culture shock.
Eventually, somehow it all paid off. I was able to gain new friends and learned a lot of stuff along the way. There were a lot of firsts: My first Thanksgiving, my first Halloween, my first Kwanzaa, and among so many is my first sleepover at a friend’s house.
It was a little around March or April 2002, spring was at its full blossom, the temperatures hovering between 44 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a new student in our class, Koji. He’s been in with us for a good number of weeks already, it didn’t really took long before all of us in the class got really close with him.
One time, I was having this idea of having a friend sleep-over at my apartment for some “getting-to-know-you” bondings. It was actually hard, asking someone about it, because I don’t know how I could blurt it out. By some unexpected twist and I don’t remember exactly now how it happened, I was able to get Koji convinced of having one of us sleep-over at the other’s house. Although I was hoping he could sleep at my place, turns out I was the one who’s going to his place for the overnight. Both our moms agreed to what the two of us cooked up and set the day of the sleepover at Friday.
On the day itself, I couldn’t help myself feeling all excited. Maybe because then I was thinking “Yeah finally, I’d be able to do those things kids do on TV…SLEEPOVER!”. My stuff were already prepped up and packed. I just need to get back home right away from school so I could get them and wait til Koji and his mom arrives to pick me up.
I was able to meet his mom, and she’s a really nice and cool person. I thinking though that like Jonathan (our other classmate who lives just a couple blocks from my apartment), the Takagi’s are just the two of them. Turns out Koji has siblings who weren’t around at the time and his dad is out working.
They live in a quiet neighborhood near Hutchinson..seemingly a secluded and peaceful place, except for the occasional noise coming from the main thoroughfare. for the rest of the day, we played soccer at the front yard and we were joined by a neighbor’s kid.
We had dinner that night where Mrs. Takagi cooked up some rice meals (note though I may not be a hundred percent accurate of what I’m writing here. I’m trying to dig up as much dirt in my mind as I can). As they were telling me stuff about themselves, I also share to them mine. It’s a quite the cultural exchange I must say. I learned a lot of new stuff about Japanese culture and hopefully they learned a few stuff from mine.
Curiously, later when we were watching baseball (a game I will never seem to understand except for my bunso), Koji asked me this very odd question: Why do I act like an adult?. I was actually surprised he said that. He even expounded that the way I speak the way I see things, the way I know current event, it’s something not typical for a kid my age.
Trying to be open-minded about it, I kinda explained to him it’s something not uncommon considering that it all falls down with the way kids are raised in different countries. Back home, I don’t engaged much on after-school extra-curricular activities (except for Fridays) and in addition, kids back home are always, in one way or another, in the know of current events.
It’s very complicated, I pointed him out and the discussion ended on that note.
The following morning, I was pleasantly surprised what Mrs. Takagi prepared for breakfast. MILO: The Olympic Energy Drink! Turns out, Milo or the way they pronounce it, “Mi-roh” is also sold in Japan. They, in turn, were surprised as well on how I prep my own Milo drink. I poured a tablespoonful of Milo powder into my glass and poured water in it before stirring it.
That gave me an idea.
I showed them what my mom taught me on consuming Milo a different way. On a small plate of rice, I poured several teaspoonfuls of Milo powder on it and mixed them all up. The result: MILO RICE.
The sleepover was a big success and in effect, it became a learning experience not just for me but for Koji I guess as well. I don’t know how he thought about it but I’m sure it made his day.
Such a highlight of my stay in the US is something I won’t ever forget.
I know that I wrote about this before but still, the thought that it’s been 8 year made me want to make an update on what I wrote more than two years ago about my time in the US when the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11, 2001. Hopefully, this ones more grammtically correct than the first. 😛
I remember my mom waking me up around 7 in the morning. The TV was turned on to Fox 5 Morning News (WTTG-TV) and as usual, I’m the first to take a bath while my little brother is given the privilege of getting a few minutes more to sleep. Ate and Kuya already left for school earlier (attending high school and middle school respectively).
After getting dressed, we ate breakfast and watched some good TV (ABC Family) until the clock strikes 8:20am. That’s the time when my mom would accompany me and Jorge to the nearest bus stop. There we would meet up with our schoolmates, including two classmates of mine, Andy and Jonathan.
Just turned 11 two weeks before and experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend school in a foreign country, I was at the time already overwhelmed with the things going on around me back then. The one thing I only hated during my stay there is the feeling that things become much of a routine.
But on that very day, the 11th of September, things changed not for the better but on the other way around.
Every 9am, we start the day by listening to the daily morning announcements followed by the pledge of allegiance then is concluded by a moment of silence before we could proceed to life in the 5th grade. Everything seems a-okay for a lot of us.
Nothing significant or anything occured except one parent who called in to pick up one of my classmates early. I thought his/her family must have some personal problems thus the reason he was sent home early. After that, class went on as we normally would.
As the day progressed I started to notice that one by one, my classmates are being pick up from school early. Me and a friend both agreed that something’s really odd but I just can’t put my finger on whatever is going on, completely unaware of what would be known to history as the event that changed the world forever.
By the end of the day there were only 12 or less of us left in class out of about 25 students. And looks like we weren’t the only one: even those from the other classroom, a lot of kids were sent home early that day.
I later learned the shocking truth when Jorge and I came home that day. Kuya and Ate were watching TV, with their eyes glued to horrific images of two tall buildings burning before an airplane crashed onto one of them, leading to their collapse. I thought it was a movie but when the TV started to show images of the Pentagon with one of its wings destroyed on a large scale I was completely speechless.
Thank goodness my mom was okay, having been sent home earluyby the World Bank with the rest of her colleagues after the attacks were committed. Later, the news reported another plane crash in Pennsylvania and reported that no one survived.
Devastating news indeed but I didn’t know how I would react with these shocking events. My mind kept thinking about this field trip we were supposed to go to the next day (which is at the same time, Jorge’s 9th birthday). Kinda cold-hearted but then again, I’m only 11, how I react?
The next day, the school formally announced the suspension of classes (not through TV but through Mr. McClain’s voice message on the school’s hotline) and while news about the attacks continue to fill our TV screens nonstop (especially WTTG).
I’ve no idea if Bush declared a state of emergency in the DC area or even in the nieghbouring suburbs but I remember that I went with my mom and Jorge to celebrate his birthday anyway by going to Tyson’s Corner, a popular mall a bus ride away from our apartment. That day became like any other day for most people as I noticed there were noticeably many people when we went to the mall.
Eventually, the feeling of fear and loss starts to sink in and I thought there’s going to be a world war (Which it did become months later).
I started to read newspaper articles related to 9/11: about near-death experiences, loved ones making tearful farewells through phone class and text. There was one article about a group of DC-based students and their teachesr who were among those who perished in the Pentagon crash. I also learned of inspiring stories about sacrifice and hope, about teamwork and love for country. It’s these small wonders that made the pain left by the attacks more bearable.
Eight years after the attacks happened, the world became completely different. We don’t know for sure of who’s reallywinning on this endless “war on terror”. But let us see this in another light: why must there be blood, violence and wasted lives for this “war” to win over. Why can’t pople just get alonga nd respect on whatever people are free to believe in. Why must we judge people based on who or what they are? Why can’t there be peace and diplomacy instead of mere tactics and badmouthing?
There are questions that needed to be answered while there are answered gthat needed to be questioned.
In order for us to attain true peace is to remember that to achieve it is to avoid an event like 9/11 to ever happen again.
In the light of yesterday’s DLSU AH1N1 drama, CSB issued a statement stating that CSB remains flu-free (from swine flu that is…) and keeping it that way by taking “precautionary measures”. Despite that, classes on this side of Taft-Estrada-P.Ocampo resumed normally.
Despite the heavy downpour of rains, classes will continue as schedule for us college peeps. Awww…
I noticed several employees from the sanitary engineering department were wearing masks when I was in the SDA lobby waiting for an elevator. I didn’t mind at first til I also saw some students wearing facemasks as well. But it didn’t budge me until I went to the clinic to ask for some cough-cold medicine which I’ve been having for a couple of days now.
Don’t worry, it’s a seasonal thing that I always have whenever the season kicks in. 😛
Before leaving, they gave me a mask as a safety precaution. Weird yes, but since I do have qa cold, it doesn’t hurt if wearing a mask is necessary on such a stressful and rainy time. Hehehe.
Wearing a zipped up jacket to protect myself from the cold, I went to class with people staring at me, surprise as if I’m someone they have to avoid (which shouldn’t be really much of a case). I got “compliments” from friends and acquiantances, telling me that I look like a “doctor”, “scientist”, “serial killer” (well not much of that third one XD).
Sheena, Inna, Aje, and Alyssa also saw me while walking acorss the 11th floor hall. Their reaction was…jaw-dropping. Sorry, really can’t describe but you know the feeling, right?
Fashion statement? Hehehe…Good thing I wasn’t the only one.
However, laugh as we want to, this is nothing to laugh if the whole situation is increasingly becoming serious. I won’t be surprised that even the CG Overdrive event in Singapore would be in jeopardy with all this hullabaloo. So let’s pray that things will turn out for the better.
| Start: | Jun 15, ’09 |
| End: | Jun 20, ’09 |
| Location: | Singapore Expo, Singapore |
“CG Overdrive is an event for the artists, by the artists. CG professionals, enthusiasts, students, academics, producers, vendors, buyers and all CG stakeholders convene and connect at this annual event. The line-up of activities includes an exhibition, conference, professional tracks and networking events, as well as a host of festival activities such as recruitment zone, exhibitor workshops, film screenings, digital art gallery and concert.”
| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Drama |
Finally, I get to watch a movie initiated by me and watched solely by me. The moment I saw the trailer of the movie, Gran Torino, on Studio 23’s News Central, I knew that once it’s out in theaters, I’m watching. Too bad that because of me being so excited and anxious, I read a spoiler over the internet which kinda ha me already knew what the ending may look like. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the film.
I failed to watch Gran Torino at the very beginning but was able to at get to the film’s developing storyline. The movie is about Walt, a typical cranky old man who lives next door. He’s a former Korean war veteran who hates people who touches his property, including his prized Gran Torino. His wife recently passed away and his immediate family, from his two sons to his grandchildren, shows no respect whatsoever to him nor his late wife. Later in the movie, he regretted being unable to know his own kids (which led to his kids’ total show of disrespect towards their own father). He lives in a neighborhood that is increasingly becoming populated by immigrants from different parts of the world. Many of his neighbors are Hmong, a hill people from Southeast Asia.
Everything changes when a gang of Hmong delinquent had a young teenaged Hmong named Thao undergo an initiation by stealing Walt’s Gran Torino. Walt was able to caught him while he aims a shotgun towards the “gangbangers”. In order to pay of his crime, Thao spent 2 weeks to serve Walt by cleaning his housek hsi neighbor’s house, garden, wash his car, the works. Eventually, the two got close, almost like a father-and-son relationship. Walt also brokered a firendship with Thao’s sister, Sue, who explained to him the ways of the Hmong.
Things turns nasty when the Hmong gangsters went to Thao for revenge and had a still burning cigarette butt marked the poor boy’s face. Walt retaliated by ganging up against one of the members, presumably Thao’s cousin. The gang fired back, literally, at Thau’s house. He almost got shot while Sue was unknowingly attacked and later raped by the same gang.
Unable to forgive himself for what happened, Walt (who by that time, knew that he’s suffering from lung cancer) made a clever plan on pinning down the gangsters without blood being spilled other than his. He made it looked like as if he was reaching for a gun beneath his jacket to the gang without them knowing that he was merely reaching out for his lighter to light his cancer stick (while at the same time performing “Hail Mary”). Unknowingly deceived, they shot him several times before he collapsed to the green lawn in a “crucified” position, complete with blood spilling from his hands.
The gang got arrested after witnesses around the neighborhood saw what happened. In his final will, Colt passed down all his properties, including the Gran Torino to his friend Thau (much to the dismay of his family, who never really cared for the poor old man). The film ends as Thau drives away with his “new” car.
——
Review:
I’m all praises with almost everything about the film. The characters, the story, even the production values embedded into the film. You can’t call Clint Eastwood a director for nothing!
I like the quirky interactions between the character Walt and Sue as well as the familial bond formed between him and Thau. His interactions with the largely multicultural characters also contributed with the development of Walt, from becoming a cranky old man to a caring and humane individual.
Speaking of humane, I could see hints of Clint Eastwood itching to do some action pack stunts at any given moment of the film but fortunately, it was cleverly avoided as Clint’s character was never shown using his gun other than merely holding it. This is a vast departure to the actor’s past portrayal of characters that always go for gold with the guns, goons and sex. Plus, as comic relief, we see that other than his constant irritation with his neighbors, he has this failing for chicken dumplings :D.
The two other central characters, Thau and Sue, were also convincing, proving that there are young actors that could also go to the same intensity of effectively portraying characters with an essence of realism. (The character Sue looks like Gaby dela Merced if you ask me). In the case of Thau, the kind of talent he has is still kind of raw but given the opportunity to portray offbeat roles in future films, he can do wonders.
On the technical aspect, I noticed that the film is about 80% percent void of music scoring. Having no background music could bore viewers but the film was able to fill that void with fast and effective pacing , with BGM added when necessary. The use of cool colors as hue greatly supported the mood and setting of the movie (living in a town somewhere in the Midwest).
I also noticed though a kind of time transition between certain scenes. There was this scene which is set to a day after the previous sequence then after less than a minute, proceeded to the next sequence set a day later. It’s not exactly a negative nor a positive thing but I feel like either one of the scenes felt unnecessary to be included on the final cut. The two sequences are: 1)the one where Thau repeatedly pressed the doorbell while Walt was in the bathroom, coughing up blood, and 2) we are forwarded to a scene where we see Walt coming out from his truck that he had just parked it outside his home.
Unlike other mainstream films produced by the US, Gran Torino’s cast are 90% non-white, showcasing the reality of America’s changing dynamics (which began with the influx of non-English immigrants in the United States, if you recall your world history), becoming increasingly diverse, shaping American society as a whole (Never got tired of saying that). Clint did the same thing when he had a predominantly Japanese cast (and those of Japanese-descent) for “Letters from Iwo Jima”)
Nonetheless, I’m satisfied with what I saw: the smooth and well-paced flow of the movie, never a boring scene nor an action-packed sequence that Clint Eastwood fans would usually expect from the award-winning actor/director/producer, and the ability of Clint Eastwood himself to really dwell on unfamiliar territory, drama (although his potential to do drama was already seen in his two previous films, “Flags of Our Fathers”, and “Letters from Iwo Jima”).
“Gran Torino” is definitely worth your money!
Last October 31st, I was tuning in on the TV all-afternoon so I could watch the final episode (or the final 24 minutes of the actual episode) of They Kiss Again, the second season to the Japanese-manga-based Taiwanese drama, It Started With a Kiss.
Medyo napaiyak ako nung napanood ko ang final episode ng sinubaybayan kong Taiwanese drama series na “They Kiss Again”. Bittersweet ang ending kasi kaya naiinis ako na ganoon ang magiging kapatpusan ng lovestory ng dalawang bida.
Second season ito ng “It Started With a Kiss” na binase naman sa isang sikat na manga na inadapt rin sa paggawa ng isang anime at ng isang J-Drama noong Dekada Nobenta (Itazura na Kiss).
Sa unang season, ang kuwento doon ay tungkol sa isang high school girl na may crush sa genius na popular boy ng eskuwela. Gumawa siya ng love letter pero binasted lang siya nito. Ngayon, bagtong lipat ang babae sa isang bahay kasama ang tatay niya. Pero sa unang gabi pa lang, gumiba na ito matapos nagkaroon nang mahinang lindol sa lugar nila.
Walang mauuwian ang mag-ama kaya inimbita sila ng matalik na kabigan ng tatay na manirahan pansamantala sa bahay niya at nang pamilya niya. Nagkataon na ang kaibigan ng tatay niya ay ang ama ng crush niya. Naging sila sa katapusan at tinuldok ang first season sa kanilang pagkakasal. Sa second season, nagsimula naman sa pagha-honeymoon ng bagong mag-asawa at ang buhay nila matapos magpakasal.
Ang lalake nagdesisyung magdoktor habang ang babae ay nagsanay na maging nars. Maraming mga bagay ang nagpasubok sa katibayan ng kanilang relasyon pero nangibabaw pa rin ang pag-ibig nila sa isa’t isa kahit kung sobra sa iba ang kanilang mga pagkatao (Henyo ang lalaki=tanga naman nang babae). Lumipas ng ilang taon, biglang nagbago itsura nang nakbabatang kapatid ng lalaki (sa unang kalahati, panget na chubby boy na nagsisimula pa lang magbinata ay naging payatot na nakasalamin na henyo sa katapusan).
Nalaman sa huli na may nakamamanang sakit ang babae na maaring ikamatay niya’t ikabulag kung sakali magkaroon na siya nang anak ng kanyang asawa. Labis na natakot ang babe dahil ayaw niyang mamatay na mag-isa’t nalulungkot na di kapiling ang mga mahal niya sa buhay. Pero inalalayan siya ng asawa niya’t sinisiguro na magiging okay ang lahat. Kung magkaka-anak man sila, aalagaan ng asawa’t mamahlin ng lubos ang anak nila, dagdag na rin na ikukuwento niya kung gaano kabait ng kanyang ina.
Natapos ang palabas nang magpapatingin sa doktor ang babae kasama ang asawa niya. May dala siyang camcorder para maalala siya nang magiging anak nila.
Nalulungkot ako sa naging ending nito kasi hindi definite kumabaga ang naging intended na ending ng mga gumawa. Marahil dala na rin ito sa hindi pagtapos ng pinagbasehang manga sa dahilang namatay ang ang awtor nito na hindi pa tapos ang manga.
Tinuring ko na lang itong “bittersweet ending” kasi kahit kung mayroong nakakamamatay na sakit ang babae, nanatili pa rin siyang matatag at makikita rin na nagmamahalan pa rin sila ng kanyang asawa hanggang sa pinaka-katapusan ng kanilang kuwento.
PInakita rin sa last episode ang mga eksena kung kalian sila nagkahalikan mula noong aksidenteng nahalikan ng babae ang crush niya noon habang tinutulungan siya sa kanilang pagsusulit hanggang sa halikan nila bilang mag-asawa.
you multiply the :
1st Digit by 8.
2nd by 7
and so on, just like this,
DLSU-M
1 * 8 = 8
0 * 7 = 0
5 * 6 = 30
0 * 5 = 0
0 * 4 = 0
2 * 3 = 6
3 * 2 = 6
5 * 1 = 5
——————-
55
CSB
1 * 8 = 8
0 * 7 = 0
4 * 6 = 24
5 * 5 = 25
0 * 4 = 0
8 * 3 = 24
1 * 2 = 2
5 * 1 = 5
——————
88
the total will always be divisible by eleven, else it’s not a lasallian ID number… [/quote]
| Start: | Aug 31, ’08 |
| Location: | Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Maysilo, Malabon |
One day, 24 solid hours, a nonstop fanfest of nothing but the James of the past and not-so-distant past.