Amethyst Street Through the Eyes of a Myopic

Been a long time, long time.. wawa naman blog ko, kaya update ko ng isang old poem muna.

Amethyst Street Through the Eyes of a Myopic

I always have trouble
  finding, seeing my way,
As I tread this road,
  as I walk here everyday.

I would hear the birds
  swinging, chirping a lonely tune,
But when I stop to look,
  they would vanish in the afternoon

The wind would softly blow,
  caressing my weary face,
But I can never ever see
  the grass, dancing full of grace.

I would see a boy,
  flying, holding a kite
And I would try to look up
  but could not see it from its flight.

As I reach our house,
  standing by the rusty gate,
I would try to look back
  as my heart disintegrate.

So much I have missed
  walking by Amethyst Street,
If this would always happen
  my days would never be complete.

Sadly, I would bow down my head,
  feeling my heart filled with regret,
I could have always enjoyed nature's beauty
  if my glasses I seldom forget...

--0--

Wet and Wild Cleaning

I'll be doing some spring cleaning... wait, let's call it wet and wild cleaning as the rainy days are here again :-) , and will be re posting some old entries from my previous AOL Journal so that I can delete the temporary blog.

Its nice that I can blog again, I miss doing this a lot...

Artemis Fowl vs. Harry Potter

posted somewhere on January 24, 2009 at 6:29 PM

This is a bit late because I am now on my third Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl book. I've finished the first book, Artemis Fowl, and the second, The Arctic Incident a few weeks ago. I kinda laid low on reading Artemis Fowl for the meantime because I don't want for the series to end soon, like what had happened when I read Harry Potter.

Yes, its that good.

The series is about Artemis Fowl, the anti-hero, criminal mastermind. The first book introduced him as a 12-year old boy genius who hatched a plan to restore his family's fortune and it involves fairy gold.

The second book, The Arctic Incident is about rescuing Artemis' father from the Russian Mafiya and fighting off a goblin rebellion.

Although, I have read very few reviews, I know that Artemis Fowl will be compared to Harry Potter as they are on the same genre. And I also know that Artemis Fowl will be the underdog and the copycat.

But they are worlds apart when seriously compared.

Like the writing style on Harry Potter has always been the first person and always focused on Harry. While on Artemis Fowl, the story is not always about Artemis, it shifts from one of the major character to another.

The magic involved on HP is the more old-fashioned type, use of wands and spells, while AF the focus is on advanced technology in the fairy world.

And in comparing Harry and Artemis, Harry is your meek, reluctant hero who is always in the right place at the right time. From the start, when Voldermort tried to kill Harry, his destiny has been sealed. Harry is an average student who, a lot of times, needs the help of his friends to get him out of a tight spot. He has been hailed a hero a lot of times, but a lot of the credit should go to the people around him. Harry had also underground a very painful transformation from boy to man.

With the two Artemis Fowl books that I have read so far, these characteristics of Harry were never evident. Artemis is a cool, calculated boy who is sure of what he wants and the ways to get it. Artemis makes his own destiny. He is never meek, no reluctance in him, and he will never be a hero, no matter what he will do.

But I will have to admit that both books are a joy to read. And its about time that I discovered Artemis Fowl, as I don't want to be kept in Harry's world. Its too gloomy at times.

June 04, 2010

P. S. I haven't got around to reading the Twilight saga yet, but don't worry, their part of my reading line up.

Know when its time to say, "I need help..."

DIYers (Do-It-Yourself guys and gals) are a very proud breed, which is a disadvantage since they do not know when they need help and when to call for help.

I have been doing a lot of DIY stuffs and I love it. It saves me money and provides me with a feeling of accomplishment when I am successful.

I was able to construct a serial level converter that I used to resuscitate a dying hard drive,

schematic diagram I used to make the serial converter

construct a simple audio isolation device, and install a second hand car stereo and amplifier. Its not that hard, its just a matter of knowing where to plug what to make everything work.

But there are times that no matter how hard I tried, I can't make some things work they way they should. I spent hours trying to convert a CD ROM into a car CD player and construct a home made amplifier. I ended up burning a PHP150 brand new audio chip. I've abandoned this project a long time ago. Its a good thing that my bro had sold me the car stereo and amplifier.

I bought this baby in AC for PHP150, then burned it the next day :-(

I've also been tackling a humming sound that's coming from the car speakers for weeks now and I can't still beat it.

Now, do I need help in beating this humming thing? I definitely do, but too proud to admit it. I've tried everything but the damn humming is still there.

This is a good example on when help is needed, and as much as I would hate to do it, I'll will consult a car audio professional in solving my humming problem.

So, fellow DIYers, here are some piece of advise:

1. Know when to say "I need help." If its taking too long to have the results you want and if the frustration is mounting, then its time.

2. Be very careful. One common danger on doing DIY stuffs is getting electrocuted. I got a taste of it yesterday, while desoldering an audio transformer. Its not a nice experience.

Mirror of Erised

Yes, I am re-reading Harry Potter and I am planning going from Book 1 to Book 7.

This is the first time that I will ever do this. I have read a lot of books and I need to read a lot more, but I feel that, after finishing HP & the Deathly Hallows, something is still not right, I feel that I am still missing a lot of things.

And one of the questions that has bugged me is: What does Dumbledore see on the Mirror of Erised.

Dumbledore insisted that he sees himself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks. But I have to agreed with Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. And I am right to agree.

There are a lot of speculation on what Dumbledore had seen in the mirror, but as it happens, this has already been answered by Ms. Rowling on one of her chat sessions with fans, I think.

If you have read Book 1 to Book 7, (as I know, almost all of you have done) you already know the answer on what's Dumbledore's heart's desire.

Metallica is Back!

It's been a long time since I've popped my Metallica cassettes to my tape player. Yes, its that bad.

 

Like any other, I was (still am) a huge Metallica fan. They were introduced to me by a College friend thru their Kill 'Em All album. A few days from that introduction, I started collecting their albums and was able to get a hold of most of their early release.

 

Their appeal to me was their clarity of guitar riffs, angry lyricism and fast thrash drum beats. Although Dave Mustaine is critical with Kirk Hammett's guitar playing, accussing him of stealing his riffs when Kirk first joined Metallica, I still like the way Kirk play, especially on most of the songs on their "...And Justice for All" album. I also like the drum beats of Lars Ulrich as it was my first introduction to trash metal, and it was a fruitful introduction.

 

All these changed when they realeased Load. I felt they started softening off their style to have mainstream appeal, which does not appeal to me :-( Some believed that it all started with the Black Album, but there are still a lot of things that I like with this album. With Load, its really disappointing.

 

 

And then comes Death Magnetic, and after listening to half the tracks on the album, I know that my idols are back.

 

As a Rolling Stones review said:

"Death Magnetic is the musical equivalent of Russia's invasion of Georgia — a sudden act of aggression from a sleeping giant.

 

"this album is Metallica becoming Metallica again — specifically, the epic, speed-obsessed version from the band's template-setting trilogy of mid-Eighties albums: Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning and, especially, the progged-out ...And Justice for All. That much is clear from the 90-second mark of Death Magnetic's first track, "That Was Just Your Life," where the band unleashes a barrage of James Hetfield's dutta-duh-duhnt riffing and Lars Ulrich's octuple-time double-bass-and-snare smashing."

Nothing much is left to say except "It's good to have you back, I miss you so, so much..."

 

Read Clive Barker, make a friend...

To make the most of my time, I do my best to multitask whenever I am on my long commute from Dau to San Fernando or vice-versa. Most of the time, I will try to eat, listen to music, and read, all at the same time.



I'm on one of my multitasking moments last night, listening to Paramore's Riot! and reading Clive Barker's Imajica, when a guy next to me started talking. I thought he was talking to someone else, but realized after a few minutes that he was trying to get my attention.

I saw him getting excited when he saw the book that I was reading and he asked me if I am a Clive Barker fan, and in all honesty, I said I am. And we hit it off just like that.

He lovingly talked about his action figures of Pinhead, his collection of Clive Barker sketches, the movies that he had watched and some of the shows that he had attended.

For my part, I shared some of the books that I have read and my awe towards Clive Barker's imagination. He also kept saying he is amazed as to the depth of Clive Barker's imagination.

He said he does not like Twilight because it somehow degraded vampires. Vampires are immortal, predatory beings and should remain that way. Not like a love-struck teenager.

He even gave me his number and asked me to get in touch with him if I want to see his collection. And his parting words were: "Pare, huwag kang bibitiw, marami tayo..." (Friend, don't lose faith, you are not alone.)

Let's get started...

My first time on the Blogger, as I am (was) a willing captive of AOL Journals. Sadly AOL Journals will be going away soon and its a good thing that Blogger had made it very easy for AOL Journals user to migrate their blogs here.

I'm using Blogger for a few days now and I like what I see so far. I really am not looking for advance blog features, I am only interested in being able to post my thoughts as soon as I can organize them.

And what's this blog about?

I love to do a lot of things and this blog will mostly be about those things. I love to read, play computer games, play chess, do cross-stitch, do basic carpentry, write poems and short stories, I love to eat, listen to music, do window shopping, and take pictures of my wife and kids.

I will be sharing some of my experiences about the things that I love, and will sometimes re post a blog entry that I've written somewhere, some time.

That's it. I'll be seeing you :-)

Emulators

I love computer games.

I started with Wolfenstein 3D, playing on my friend Ruben's computer when I was in college.  What I would do then was go to their house in Sindalan, play until midnight and if I was not able to catch a ride, I will sleep next to him on the floor. I did this a few times and only stopped when I noticed that Ben was starting to get annoyed.



I was able to buy my own computer while working for BPI Family Bank, and my gaming progressed to Heretic, Hexen II, Doom 1 & 2, and Quake 1 & 2.



I had to ditch my old PC after a few years since I want to play the newer games. So I build my own PC (my new rig and how I built it is here: My mobo is an upgrader's dream :-) ).

With my new rig, I was able to play some of my favorite games: Call of Duty 1, United Offensive, 2, 4, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne, and the Command and Conquer series.



But what of emulators? Well, its the thing that's keeping me busy right now. Emulators are computer software that imitates the workings of arcade games, consoles, and handhelds.

Some of my favorite emulators are:

Neo-RageX - emulates a lot of arcade games. I am able to play Metal Slug and Aero Fighter with this baby.



Project64 - emulates Nintendo 64 games. With this one, I can play Mario Kart, Castlevania, Mortal Kombat.



ePSXe - a Playstation 1 emulator, and a very good one. I am playing Silent Hill, Tekken 3 and  Alien Trilogy with this one



PSXfin - another Playstation 1 emulator. With this one, I am playing Marvel vs. Capcom, King of Fighter's 99, and Metal Slug X.

Spring Ride

I was cleaning one of the big cabinets on our room downstairs and came across my old cross stitch patterns, I have a Last Supper cloth and DMC but I seem to have lost the pattern, I have a God Bless Our Home pattern and I think I still saw the cloth, I just need to buy a few DMC, and my favorite pattern, Spring Ride.

I bought this a few years ago, started it with enthusiasm, and as everything else, the excitement slowly died especially when I started to feel my neck becoming numb from stooping for so long. So Spring Ride was forgotten.

But seeing it now and my progress so part, made me to want to see it finished. Seeing it again made me feel like I have an overdue pregnancy and my baby is bursting to come out.

So I started stitching it again.

How would it look when finished, like this:



Ambitious, you say, eh...

Yes, I feel the same way  but I promise to do my best to finish it this time.

My progress? I taken some pics this morning, and I will be posting them soon.

Paul Potts' Nessun Dorma

I was driving My Love to work a few days ago and out of the blue, she asked me if I've already heard Paul Potts rendition of Nessun Dorma.

Its a bit of a shock, but a good news all the same, because I have never known My Love to have an inclination in liking classical music. I love the classics and it will be a good way for My Love and I to bond by talking about the classical music that we like to listen to.

I told her that what I have heard was the version of Luciano Pavarotti and I have a cassette tape if she wants to hear it.

She was adamant in wanting to hear Paul Potts version because she was told that it was a very emotional, involving rendition. I promised her that I will try to get a copy of the song.

Our little talk had rekindled in me one of the things that I love doing... listening to the classics. I love everything about the classics, from classical guitars to operas, from Beethoven, to Tchaikovsky, to Puccini, to Mozart, to Bach, to Chopin.

I started listening to them on a radio station, 98.7 DZFE. Its the only station I know that plays classical music. Check out their site at http://dzfe.febc.ph/.

My favorite has always been Tchaikovsky, because of the intensity of personal emotions flowing through his music. Whenever I listen to his Violin Concerto in D, I always get teary-eyed.


Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

There's much to say about my liking classical music, but what I would like to tell you is to try listening to it. Yes, it can get a bit boring sometimes, but what you have to do is to try to nurture the emotions being evoked by the music.

As for Paul Potts, I haven't had the chance to listen to him sing Nessun Dorma yet. You are lucky because you will be able to listen to him first, here's a youtube video of him singing the aria. The computer that I am using right now does not have the sound drivers installed so don't worry:

Goodbye AOL Journals, Hello Blogger.com

Yes, sign of the times, changes happen that will give you an idea on the status and health of the company.

First it was Xdrive and AOL Pictures, now its AOL Journals and AOL Hometown/FTP.

AOL Journals and AOL Hometown/FTP will sunset come October 31, and it was a good things that AOL had given members the option to migrate their journals to Blogger.com.

I've finished migrating all of my AOL Journals to Blogger.com, and gratefully, it was an easy enough process. The migration sa semi-automatic, you just need to sign on to Blogger, provide your AOL Journal url after making it public, provide your AOL or AIM credentials, and wahlah! migrated to Blogger.com.

I had to tweak the blogs a few, but it all in all, it was an easy process.

And for posterity's sake, here is a screen shot of my blog. Come October 31, I will no longer see this:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I am about to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and all I can say is that, it is one of my most satisfying read ever. My only regret is that the ride is about to end, and if Ms.  Rowling is to be believed, it is also the end of Harry Potter. No character or plot spin off, no individual treatment of characters, like expanding on the Life and Lies of Albus Dumboldore, or the Love Story of Ron and Hermoine.

A lot has to be said about this series, most of them admirable and beautiful, and I won't pretend that I can discuss even an infinitesimal part of those beautiful things. But my regret for it ending says it all.

One of the things that's really affected me is what I consider the unfair treatment of Ms. Rowling on Snape and the undeserved treatment on Dumbledore.

Snape has always been the center of hate and fear at the start of the series and on the better part of the last book, when in reality, his intentions are noble and rooted on love.

While Dumbledore has been admired and everybody wants tot emulate him. He is considered one of the perfect wizard, giving help to those who need it most. Only to be revealed that he is a manipulative man, harboring a dark secret.

But I guess that this is the true measure of a great storyteller, and for this, Ms. Rowling, I salute you.

And are the deaths of some of the people and magical creatures that we have grown to love necessary? Can Ms. Rowling not let them live? What was her measure on who should live and who should die? I have not surfed the net to find out, but I think Ms. Rowling is more inclined in martyring those we expect to live a long life. A bit cruel, but as we all know, Ms. Rowling is her own god when it comes to Harry Potter. We may question the outcome of a lot of things, but we cannot do anything about it.

Well, still don't know how the book would end, and I am tempted not to finish it, just to preserve the suspense and for Harry Potter and the others to continue being... But that is absurd. The centaurs have joined the battle, and I know that it will be an very interesting end.

A Very Special Love

I have a common stereotype about Filipino movies: uncreative plot, dialogues that sucks, and boring settings. But these stereotypes are probably my fault, as a rarely give Pinoy movies a chance in changing my mind by not watching them (yes, I'm crazy, hehehe).

Its a good thing that naamoy ko na some girlfriends of mine will be watching a movie and I tagged along, not really knowing what they will be watching. When I learned that we will be watching "A Very Special Love," I said to myself that I wasted my 5 hours of undertime.

Well, I guess I spoke too soon because I enjoyed most of it.

Its has the usual plot, in love si "not so mayaman" girl sa mayamang guy; guy struggles to be acknowledged, the reason why he cannot admit that he is in love, and ang mayaman maraming problema, and ang "not so mayaman" palaging masaya.

But the movie is fun and there are a lot of scenes na natawa ako, gaya nung Sun Dance in Laida, nung sabihin ni Migs na Laida will be working close with him and Laida daydreaming, asked "Gaano ka close?" while their faces are a few inches from each other, the "Ang ganda mo" comment of Matet.

The mushy scenes are also ok, not too mushy pero you will see that John Lloyd and Sarah were comfortable with each other.

Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan eh bakit walang kissing scene? Granted na parang di naman kailangang mag kiss kiss sila, pero parang kulang. Doon ako nabitin.

Tapos, what's with Sarah's hair? Wig ba iyon. Well, anyway...

Kristine Series 10 - Franco Navarro

Kristine series #10: Franco Navarro

Dalawang buwang sanggol pa lamang si Bea nang mangako ang sampung taong gulang na si Franco Navarro sa ama niya na pakakasalan siya sa pagsapit ng ika-labing walong tag-araw. At dalawang buwan na ang nakalampas matapos ang eighteenth birthday niya. At sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa buhay ni Bea ay makakaharap niya si Franco Navarro upang ipatupad dito ang pangakong binitiwan.

Si Franco Navarro ay walang balak na pakasal sa kahit na kaninong babae. Pero determinado si Bea and he was holding on to his promise once upon a time.

***

Tapos ko na basahin ang Franco Navarro at masasabi kong ito ay hindi isa sa mga more creative stories ni Ms. Cecilia. Iyong sa naligo ng sabay at sa may mesa, ok iyon pero iyong ending ay a bit weak.

Pero kahit na, nag-enjoy akong nagbasa. Ginawa kong parang pamamahinga sa pagbabasa ng Harry Potter.

Paano natapos iyong kuwento, siyempre nag kasundo sina Franco at Bea, nagkatuluyan, dahil na rin sa tulong ni Lucinda. Iyon na.

Aking mga nota habang nagbabasa:

8/25/2008

Medyo nag break ako sa Harry Potter reading ko. Umuulan at ayaw kong dahil iyong libro ni My Love at baka mabasa. So I re read Kristine 10 - Franco Navarro nainumpisahan ko a makailang buwan na at hindi ko matapus-tapos.

At nagbilib ulit ako kay Madam Martha Cecilia, medyo ayus lang ang ander ng kuwento pero nung tsapter siyam na ay gumanda na.

Hindi ko pa tapos ang pagbabasa pero kailangan ko nang isulat ito at baka makalimutan ko, talagang magaling si Ms. Cecilia pagdating sa twist ad pag build ng suspense (sorry hindi ko na ma sustain ang pagta Tagalog, mahirap). Parang gusto mong malaman kung ano ang mangyayari kaya tatapusin mo na ang pagbabasa. At ito na ang gagawin ko ngayon, so see you later.

Patatawarin ba ni Franco si Bea sa paniwalang kasabwat ni Bea si Jerome para pabagsakin siya?

Siyempre oo, pero, papaano? Ano ang gagawin ni Bea para maiayos ang lahat? O si Franco ba ang gagawa ng paraan para maisaayos ang lahat?

Sa palagay ko ay si Bea ang makaka solve ng lahat ng problemang kanila ngayong pinagdadaanan, she is a strong woman, a very resourceful. Although Franco is shrewd, he is now blinded by anger and jealousy to real know what to do.

Abangan.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

posted somewhere on August 29, 2008 at 5:06 pm

Finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the night of August 22 and as I have said, it resolved some questions and created new ones.

Its one of the saddest book that I have read, owing to the fact that I have been with Harry since Year 1. I have been involved to most of his challenges as an underage wizard to his battles with Voldermort and the ones who ridicule him.

But although sad, there are a lot of kigil moments on the book, particularly Harry's struggle on wanting to court Ginny vs. Ron being his friend, and the most kakigil daw, although very short compared to Harry and Cho's courting, was when Harry kissed Ginny in the common room after they won a Quidditch match.

Reading this part made me reminisce of my high school and college days. It will be years before I will have a girlfriend, my one and only Love, and I've experienced a lot of heartbreaks in between. And reading the Harry-Ginny scene made me feel that I have missed a lot during my high school and college days, what those things are, I don't know, but it feels like there is a hole on my being somehow.

Some of my notes while reading the book:

8/16/2008

Started reading a few days ago and here are some of the mysteries that needs to be unraveled:

Who is the half-blood prince?

How and why did Dumbledore injured his hands?

What is Draco's mission and what was he doing in Knockturn Alley?

One funny scene that I have encountered was when Dumblebore himself went to Privet Drive to fetch Harry and bring him to the Burrow. The funny scene there was when Dumbledore brought our a wine bottle and some glasses and offered wine to everybody, even to the three Durley's while they were seated on a sofa. What's very unusually about this was that the wine glasses were hovering above the heads of the Durleys, bumping on their heads persistently because they did not want to take the drinks.

Even a few chapters before Siver and Opals, Harry is already noticing Ginny. There was a mention of a pleasant aroma that Harry smelled when Ginny appeared while they were eating on the Gryffindor table, same aroma that he had smelled while in Slughorns class and they were near a love potion. Is there a deeper meaning to this?

8/17/2008

I am on the Felix Felicis chapter and it seems that I am finally seeing the eventual love matching of the characters. While on Herbology, Hermione was mentioning the upcoming Slug Club party. As usual, Ron reacted negatively saying that why doesn't she try hooking up with McLaggen, they could be King and Queen Slug. When Hermione mentioned that they are allowed to bring guest and that he was thinking of inviting Ron, being seated with them became uncomfortable for Harry as he is seeing how Hermione is turning red into admitting that she was planning to invite Ron, and Ron's meek reaction when confronted with the admission.

Harry contemplated on what will happen to him in the event that Ron and Hermione will become lovers. What if they broke up, will it be like what happened to Harry and Cho, not even able to look each other. But what if they did not broke up, will it mean that Harry will be the odd man out?

Harry also cannot understand his feelings when he saw Dean and Ginny kissing, is it something of significance, of importance?

8/18/2008

Why the change in Tonks personality? She became suddenly very serious from being funny on HP and the OP.

I like the exchange between Harry and Scrimgeour while he cornered Harry when he was at the Burrows.

Scrimgeour came with Percy to the Burrow while the Weasleys including Harry and Fleur were having a Christmas morning breakfast, with pretense that Percy wanted badly to visit the Weasleys. S had taken Harry to the garden and while viewing a gnome trying to extricate a worm from a rhododendron.

What Scrimgeour basically wants is to show that Harry is working side by side with the Ministry, and Harry's reply was that he does not want to be used.

Their exchange was very icy and involving, that I am finding myself cheering for Harry and hating the Minister more.

8/21/2008

I had some things clarified last night while reading, like the missing memory of Slughorn while with Tom Riddle, what happened to Dumbledore's hand, the real feelings of Harry towards Ginny, how does Malfoy disappear not showing even on the Marauder's Map, and what are Horcruxes and why is it important for Harry to know them in his battle with Voldermort.

Still haven't had an inkling on who the Half-Blood prince is, although from the looks of it, he uses Dark Magic as evidence by the Sectumsempra that Harry used on Malfoy during their duel in the bathroom.

And what was Draco doing, what was his mission, what did he do in the Room of Requirement?

Why is Tonks so messed up, was she in love with Sirius?

8/22/2008

I am a few page shy in finishing HBP, Dumbledore is dead, betrayed by Snape, and most of them are now in the hospital wing, Bill being cared for since he was attacked and bitten by the werewolf Greyback, the others were on separate beds, resting.

It is becoming clear why Tonks was in such a gloomy mood. It was not Sirius that she's mourning but a love that is unrequitted by Lupin. I am still on the part were Fleur snatch the ointment from Mrs. Weasley and applying it to Bill.

Some questions answered, more questions introduced:

It was Malfoy who tried to sneak in the cursed jewel that made Katie sick and the posioned mead that Ron drank. He put Rosmerta under the Imperius curse to be able to achieve this. He was also able to fix the Vanishing cabinet that the Death Eaters used to enter Hogwarts.

Who was R.A.B from the letter that Harry got on the locket that Harry and Dumbledore got from a cabe, that was obviously not Voldemort's Horcrux. The letter was actually intended for Voldemort, and it said he might be dead when Voldemort reads it but he found the true Horcrux, and when Voldemort meets his match, he might be mortal again.

What is the secret of true love?

This little piece is from WikiAnswers and the article is locked from editing. Just want to ask if you agree. If not, let's mailbomb WikiAnswers so that they open the article and we can edit it

What is the secret of true love?

In: Relationships 

The secret to true love as opposed to sexual love is to under stand that it is unconditional, if you love some one or something you must love it warts and all, otherwise it's conditional love. a dog can spend its life being mistreated and still welcome its master. That is true love. 

Before we can discuss the secret to true love, you must understand that true love is a gift that has to be valued and nourished. It's not something that you find one day like a beautiful seashell on a beach and put it up somewhere to be admired. True love is a part of life that has a life of its own. Value and nourish it, and it will grow and become deeper and more valuable. Find it, give it no value and forget to nourish it, and it will die. Simple as that.

The first secret to true love is knowing when you have found the love of your life, your other half, the one who is more important to you than even yourself, the one your entire being tells you is the one for you. That may happen one day when you look across a room and meet the eyes of her or him, your eyes lock and your heart jumps, and the eyes you are looking into tell you that the same is happening on the other side of that gaze. It could also happenwhen you are out with someone that you have dated casually for months, but never really felt much of anything for. Suddenly, one night, your heart could leap as your eyes meet or your lips touch. Knowing you have found true love might be just a quiet knowing that the person is the one for you. It happens differently for different people.

After meeting your true love, the secret to keeping the love alive is to unselfishly put the other person before yourself and communicate with that person in a positive and open manner. Many great relationships have lost their pizazz due to mistakes of one or both becoming selfish and not communicating with the other. Even those who have found their true loves have lost them because of the hurt and disappointment caused when the love of your life's actions and words say "you don't matter," "I'm for me first," and similar things.

When two people find true love and each puts the other's hopes, dreams, desires, and feelings above their own and communicates in such a way as to build the other up and share their innermost thoughts, beautiful things happen! The true love that was found grows into something more beautiful than a rose, deeper than the deepest ocean, and stronger than anything imaginable. Anything less than being unselfish, putting the other before yourself, and great communication and it's tough for even true love to survive.

Goodbye FSI, hello BDO

 

May had their very first BDO On Site General Assembly last night and they've discuss all about drastic changes: All BDO On Site branches will close and employees will be transitioned to full BDO branches on January 2, 2009.

Even before the GA, May and I had a premonition that its not going to be all good news. I had myself as an example, when we had our very first AOL GA here in Clark, we were already bought by eTel and its just a matter of rolling out the news. And it seems I was not wrong.

Its not a complete lost naman as most of those who will be displaced have the option to find a branch that they prefer and have a vacant position, if available. earmarked for them. They need not re apply since they are already regular BDO employees. And they will retain their position, like if they are service officers on BDO On Site, they will act as officers on the branch.

The on hassle is that they will need to find a branch on their own and they will need to undergo another training. There's also the apprehension of building relationship since they will be part of a new working environment.

But all in all, I think May is ok.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

Finished with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and what I can say is that the book is getting gloomier and gloomier. One person very dear to Harry had died and the world had finally realized that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back.

Some consolations were that the Ministry of Magic had finally admitted their mistake and Harry and Dumbledore were exonerated, Hagrid's giant brother is learning to behave, no student was seriously hurt with their duels with the Death Eaters, Umbridge is out and Trelawney is in, and McGonnagall was not seriously hurt when she was attacked by Umbridge's henchmen.

There were some disappointments, primarily among them is the prophecy. Its as if, with the way the book is going, everybody already knows what the prophecy will be, that one person will  have to battle the Dark Lord and only one of them will survive.

Another disappointment is the Howler that Aunt Petunia received that forced her to change her mind about throwing Harry out the house after he and Dudley were attacked by dementors. I was thinking that there was a very important underlying factor about the howler and about Aunt Petunia reaction to it, like she was also a witch trying her best to hide it, something like that. But I was just a simple reminder from Dumbledore, nothing more.

But he best thing about the book was how Rowling grows Harry. She accurate describes the struggles that a boy will undergo while growing up. The problem with Harry's is that he was not in a normal environment and now in a normal situation. Rowling accurate describes Harry's feeling of being sullen, resentful, self-pitying, and anger. His outburst are all but normal for a growing boy. I always asked myself, was I like that when I can growing up? Probably not, but I always feel that there were a lot of things that he felt that I have felt to, especially the self-pitying.

Some reviews are saying that Harry is becoming arrogant and obnoxious, even when dealing with his friends. But I think that Rowling did this transformation on purpose. Its like Harry is showing some hint of his father's personality, without realizing it. The good thing about this is that when Harry found out how arrogant his father was, he felt very disturbed about it and preferred to be humble.

I said that Harry's circumstances were not normal. I think that is an understatement. Some of the things that he need to endure are being whispered about and put upon, being tried by a criminal court for under-age magic, dreams of serpents, dark rooms and corridors and anxieties about his O.W.L. exam, he's not getting enough sleep. The daily wizard paper keeps insinuating that he's a ''lying weirdo.'' Hermione wonders if maybe he loves playing the hero a bit too much. His first kiss can only be described as ''wet.'' He learns things he'd prefer not to know about his dead father. And the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has banned him from ever again playing Quidditch. What a way to spend the year in Hogwarts. Just listening to what he has to endure, it feels that it is more inviting to spend the time in Privet Drive... well, maybe not.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is another magical ride for Harry Potter fans. And for me, its better late than never.

Some of my notes while reading the book:

08/07/2008

I am on the part were Hagrid was introducing Grawp to Harry and Hermione. I was able to guess that Hagrid brought home a giant, and that's an improvement. I did not guess though that the giant was his brother, but you can't have them all.

Harry was also having Occlumency lessons from Snape and he was able to peek at a memory that Snape do not wish to have anybody view. It got Harry thinking that his father was as arrogant as Snape said he was. But I agree with Lupin, Harry should not judge what he saw on the Pensieve, as this was just one instance that his father's gang was in action. And Harry's mother, Lily, married his father. That's something that he should think about.

Another notable is the escape of Fred and George from Filch and Umbridge was setting alight a portable swamp on the corridor. Many considered that it was a stuff for Hogwarts legend.

7/31/2008

Another new thing that surprised Harry upon reaching the station drop to Hogwarts was seeing the dragonish horses that were pulling the carriage that will take them to the castle.

One had to ask what significant thing that happened to Harry for him to see these creatures, were these creatures already pulling the carriage even when they were first years, what are these creatures?

The answer will be revealed by Hagrid and a bit obvious to some HP readers, but again, it will be a bit of a surprise for me.

***
HP and OP is one were Harry has always had anger brewing a short distance from the surface of his being, and that's not surprising since Harry is entering puberty.

Rowling had depicted puberty so accurately that I was even reminiscing the time that I was courtinga few of my classmates in high school.  Some of the things that Rowling described accurate was the feeling Harry was having when he sees Cho, the way Harry feels a tingling sensation whenever he is near Cho.

***

I like the way he described Cho kissing Harry after their D.A. session.

I also like Hermione's way of explaining why Cho is always crying, that she was sad because of Cedric's dying and  confused because she likes Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't make up her mind who she likes best; then she felt guilty, its an insult to Cedric's memory to kiss Harry at all; and she was worried about what others might say if she starts a relationship with Harry; and she probably could not work out her feeling toward Harry has he was with Cedric when Cedric died; so that's very all mixed up and painful. And she was afraid she's going to be thrown off from the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she was flying badly.

I also like Ron's reaction, saying that nobody can feel that way at once, they'll explode.

And Hermione's reply was also funny, saying that just because Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean they all have.

7/22/2008

Another emotional scene was when Harry was anticipating his impending hearing with the Ministry of Magic for using the Patronus Charm when he and Dudley were attacked by dementors. Rowling description of how Harry feels were so involving that you can feel his anxiety.

***
First mystery, why was Aunt Petunia so worried with the howler the she received when they were in the Dursley's kitchen discussing Harry and Dudley being attacked by dementors. What could the message mean?

Kung Fu Panda

I am finding that its really a treat to have kids and toddles at home because I have a valid excuse to sit in front of the television and watch cartoons with them.

 

Some of the cartoons that I have watched... and watched... and watched... are the Complete Land Before Time series, this is actually a "watch in progress" (as in work in progress, hehehe) since they are still coming up with new additional to the series, the latest is Land Before Time - The Wisdom of Friends, which I haven't got the chance to buy yet; there's Cars, which I love so much; A few season of the The Simpsons, love this too; Dora The Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, and even Barbie.

 

 

The latest that I was able to watch was Kung Fu Panda, a movie that, at first watch, I did not approve of. But I later realize what the movie was really all about and it is highly recommended.

 

 

The story is about Po, a panda, that loves kung fu. Hence the title Kung Fu Panda, hehehe. He was picked to be the dragon warrior over the "Furious Five" (Monkey, Tigress, Crane, Mantis and Viper) by Master Oogway. The dragon warrior must battle the rogue Tai Lung to bring peace to the valley. Master Shifu thinks that this was an accident, as Po's kung fu skills, with his admission, was level zero. But as Master Oogway is fond of saying "There are no accidents" and he begs Shifu to believe that they finally found the dragon master.

 

The scripts and dialogues are very good and memorable, although full of cliches. What I like about Kung Fu Panda is that, unlike other movies, it did not resort to spoofing another movie or a song and dance number. It was funny and deep all its own.

 

I said that I did not approve of it at the beginning, because of what Po or Panda said not wanting to be himself. What's wrong about being oneself? I asked myself. But when I heard Mr. Ping, Panda's father, confide to him that there are no secret ingredients, that something does not need a secret ingredient to be special as long as you believe, I finally realized that this movie teaches a very basic, but important lesson: "There is no need to change what you are, just believe that you are special, believe that you can do it and you are all set for success."

 

One really cute thing that I like about Po was when he wiggle his nose whenever he was upset or in a state of self-pity. I like it best when he did the nose-wiggling after falling down on a chair that he rigged with fireworks and he shouted "I love kung fu!"

 

 

There are a lot of memorable quotes that I love from the movie, here are some of them:

 

 "You are too concerned with what was and with what will be.

Yesterday is history... tomorrow is mystery...
but today is a gift.. that is why it's called present"
- Master Oogway

 

"Yeah, I stayed. I stayed because every time you threw a brick at my head or said I smelled; it hurt, but it couldnever hurt more than everyday of my life just being me. I stayed because I thought if anyone can change me, can make me not me, it was you! The greatest kung fu teacher in all of China!"

- Po

 

There are no accidents.

- Master Oogway

 

One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

- Master Oogway

 

There is no secret ingrredient.

- Mr. Ping

 

The mind is like this water, my friend.  When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see.  But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.

- Master Oogway

 

The mark of a true hero is humility

- Master Shifu