Saturday photo

A candy for the eyes and the imagination...
...'so close, and yet so far'.

What?  

Has it been a full week now since my last post?  Hmm... what can I say, I'm getting better at this, ain't I? 😛 Used to take a full couple of months in between posts for me since... uhm, four years ago?  Has it been that long now?  Yep, four years ago when there was ample time to express one's self... four years ago when there was work-life balance. Hmm... feels like forever! 😣 

Speaking of work-life balance, I was really excited when I was called to a Planning-Workshop with peers.  No, I'm not a sucker for this sort of things... of course not, hello!  Every single second in my workplace is a 'planning-workshop' of sorts + action all at once. So, I do have my daily fix of this gig just because my workplace is all that challenging... and I do have a brilliant Team that makes the whole scene thoroughly delightful.  So, a very 'structured' gig is not really my cup of tea.  It's just that the venue was out-of-town, about three-hour drive from the City.  It was a lovely beach resort that I haven't seen in about twenty years.  I 'googled' it, and it wasn't anything I remembered from twenty years ago.  It was much more beautiful now, and that got me all excited!  😊

So, I joined the activity in good spirit... only to feel my excitement deflating and going south every second of the three-day gig.  I never even saw the sunset, and never got to dip my feet in the beach... just because we worked from 7:30 a.m. (yeah, even eating breakfast felt like 'a lot of work') to 8:00 p.m. (yep, dinner felt like work, too).  In the evening, I felt exhausted and brain-dead, that I just wanted to curl in bed and drown my 'sorrows' in music. 😫 Yeah, that definitely made me feel like a 'boring, buttoned-up principal' from the 'old school' rather than an 'innovative engineer' around really cool buddies who think outside-the-box and knew how to have fun... while hard at work.  

Well, I guess, there is a variety of things that make a variety of people tick.  Therefore, no point in bringing 'em together and insist on singular thought process... and still expect 'em to get many things done?  That is either 'brave' or 'naive'. 😐  To be fair, I don't really know what the 'formula' is, and I'm sure people tried so hard to be productive.  What I do know is that this particular formula does not work... not for me, anyway.  What can I say, the 'I-got-this-so-let-me-be' detached nature of millennials has caught up on me?  Then again, that's just me... and I'm not all that perfect.  So, I guess I'm the 'odd' one.  And yet, I feel like coaxing people to, "come on, now... it's the 21st century.  Outta the box now... it's really nice out here!  Come and see!" 😃

I'm probably just being cynical, sorry... so don't mind me.

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What I think

But, I think I know what happened there.  Someone was trying so hard to express their gratitude and affection to a squad that they built with blood, sweat, tears and a decade worth of energy, but were 'forced' by obstinate circumstances to leave behind their squad... just when the squad needed them the most.  Like the great 'general' that the squad leader is, the 'general' wanted to prepare the 'captains' to a fierce battle ahead.  More than that, the 'general' probably wanted to have the squad all for itself for a few days to assure them that they are ready for the battle, too... and to just bond, just share a heap of laughter over just-all-fun conversations.  But administrative 'facilities' do not allow even 'generals' to do this, so our 'general' opted for good ol' Planning-Workshop.  I think that all everyone in that Planning-Workshop really wanted to do was to just bond with the 'general', too!  'Cause ya know, there can't be a kick-ass captain without a kick-ass general!  Then again, in the first place... a 'squad' is not the same as a 'Team', y'see.  If you ask me, I prefer Team.  I do have one in my own workplace, and it's awesome!  So yeah, Punta Fuego was a classic case of 'the right people with the right feelings but in a mismatched circumstance'! 

The featured photo was one of the ONLY TWO photos I've taken in the three-day gig... and I'm a sucker for photos of beautiful sceneries!  Somehow, the beautiful sceneries were not enough to inspire creative juices to flow.  What a shame!  My fault entirely, I must admit... although I did enjoy a 30-minute dip in the infinity pool. And even that, did not inspire 'proper documentation' through photos.  But, yeah, there were two or three (maybe four, even five, actually) kindred spirits that made the whole 'ordeal' bearable though, God bless them! 😇

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What I wish

Do you know what's fun?  Well, it's the Graham Norton Show!  That episode with Dan Stevens after Matthew Crawley's demise in Downton Abbey was hilarious (well, most parts, anyway), so was that episode with Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne and Bryan Cranston; and that episode with Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy.  But this here (below) is, I believe, one of the very best episodes.  You're welcome!  😎

    Graham to Hugh: "It's an odd look for a man, but you carried it off."

    Hugh to Graham:  "...so, I brought my favorite wooly jumper, but not my red 'lippy',
                                which I left at home."

    Bill: "Lippy?" (laughter)

    Hugh to Bill : "Yeah, 'lippy', what's that mean in America?"

    Bill to Hugh:  "I dunno!" (laughter)

    Matt to Graham: "I think that the key to my performance (in "Behind the Candelabra")
                              is I borrowed Hugh's 'lippy'."
    Graham to Matt:  "It gets around."
    Matt to Graham:  "And I was actually asked to wear wooly jumper in every single scene."

    Hugh to Graham: (sounding disgruntled) "How many guests have walked out of the show?"

Maaan, comedic banter at its best... such good time, indeed!  See, Punta Fuego could've been this fun! 😎😊

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About the photo:  Taken from the reception hall of the lovely Club Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines. 

Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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Saturday photo

"Put 'em in the wash.  They'll be grand."

I have been wondering about Ireland, dreaming a bit about Ireland... and how I gave up an opportunity to live there for at least a couple of years to... well, to respond to a 'loud call'.  

I chanced upon this 2010 film, "Leap Year", on YouTube, which involved Ireland.  It really had very little to offer, aside from the beautiful Irish countryside that served as a backdrop in almost the whole film.  Just the same, it was a really cute rom-com... most of it was because of the excellent performances of the very talented Amy Adams (Anna Brady from Boston), who happens to be one my favorite actresses, and that 'beautiful Brit', Matthew Goode (Declan O'Callaghan from Dingle, Ireland).  Of course, their characters started out on wrong foot, clashing like two wrecking balls in the beginning (don't they always?)... but Adams and Goode are so good they didn't really overdo it.  Therefore, Anna and Declan's conflicting personalities: Miss Organized-even-in-romance and Mr. Romantic-actually-but-cheated-on-before-therefore-skeptical-of-love, around which the movie revolved didn't come across too much as tired-and-old corny story, etc., etc.  

Somehow, Adams's tenacity in acting and Goode's cool take on Declan found a way to bring some freshness to an age-old plot, that it felt worthwhile to be taking some 100 minutes from my rare "me time" to watch the film.  I particularly loved the expression on Anna's face when, after leaving Declan who fell asleep on a bench while waiting for her bus to Dublin, to get coffee and bus tickets for the two of them, and Declan waking up disappointed thinking that Anna has gone on board the leaving bus without saying goodbye, she beamed at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he cared about her.  

"Declan: You're joking me.

Anna: You can deduct the coffee from my bill. (smiles)

Declan: Deduct away.  Don't forget to add on for a new pair of shoes... pukey. (smiles)"

It was beautifully acted by both actors. It's either that, or I was just too stressed out that I was totally back to being 16 years old again!  I suspect it's the former.  Perhaps, that's really all that the film was aimed at... to bring some respite to 'tired souls'.  And ya know what, it was right on target!

The film had many little surprises here and there.  As if the cute performances of Adams and Goode were not enough, when things were really looking a bit warm and 'grand' between Anna and Declan, and I was really 'warming up' to the characters as they quite obviously were falling for each other, the makers of the film snuck in with a Neil Young classic, "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", interpreted by Gwyneth Herbert...

  🎶 "When you were young and on your own

How did it feel to be alone?

I was always thinking of games that I was playing

Trying to make the best of my time.

But only love can break your heart..." 🎵

*sigh*  Uhm, wow... speaking of 'tired souls', I felt like I just 'died' and went up to heaven. What a song!  How so melancholy, how sweet, how true... how beautiful, indeed!  To me, that 'nailed' it.  I officially love this film... never mind that I'm seven years late.

So, yeah, "Leap Year" was one 'grand' a-tumbler-of-popcorn-worthy rom-com! :)

My Rating:  Good "me time" material.  Go for it!

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Photo credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the screen shot and the video link.

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Saturday night music...

...because it's been another action-packed week that I missed 'Friday Night Music'.
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by PAM


Felt like I was 'running around' all week, and my fingers have been 'flying' on my keyboard - beating real and self-imposed deadlines.  So, need to slow down.  For some reason, I've been humming this song in my head...

"I wanna be with you, there's nothing more to say

there's nothing else I want more than to feel this way..." 

That sounds really good, doesn't it?  Just one girl simply singing about a boy in a beautifully-lit dance studio... in an overall feel-good sorta way.  No shocking violence nor exasperating visuals in sex-insinuating scenes that are so prevalent in music videos these days.  Of course, Mandy Moore's lip gloss is 'so nineties' and she seemed to try a bit too hard to look as 'sultry' as Cristina Aguilera in this video... but, boy, I didn't realize how slim and long-limbed MM actually was!  I've always had that straight-from-the-monastery picture of her in a "Walk to Remember" (2002) in my head... and she obviously gained some weight when she starred in "Chasing Liberty" (2004) where we first took notice of that beautiful Brit Matthew Goode. :)

And, speaking of "A Walk to Remember", this song comes to mind, too...

"In places no one will find all your feelings so deep inside

It was there that I realized that forever was in your eyes

the moment I saw you cry."

And who can forget this song from the same film? 

"And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours...

I know now you're my only hope."

Uhm, yeah... wasn't that all so very different from the music videos as we know these days?  It's amazing how it all changed so drastically in just one decade!  Ah, 'change'... the 'much abused' word that should mean 'hope... a step forward - for the better'.  It has now become a theme for promoting personal agenda, a propaganda to justify deviation from what is right, a rebellion against order by people who are simply bored out of their thick (empty) skulls!

Ah, but wait... this is supposed to be an evening of 'feel-good' stuff, hopeful stuff, good stuff.  So, yeah... what about ending with something from one of my favorite bands, "The World I know" by Collective Soul?

"Has all the kindness gone?

Hope still lingers on."

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Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.

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Obama cares...

...to sing about 'the shape of you'!
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by PAM


I know, I know, the past few posts were grim.  OK, so let me make it up to you (assuming we have a 'you' here, that is) with this, and see if it doesn't crack you up like it did me...

"Come on, now, follow my lead...
I'm in love with the shape of you..."

Hahaha.... oh, gosh!  Now, isn't that fun?  So hilarious!  

But, really, seriously... what if, the great "Presidential Lecturer" himself really tried singing "Shape of you"?  I'd wager he'd do really great.  Are we ever going to find out?  Ah, gosh... I wish we'd see the day when Pres. Barack Obama really gets the pop singing going, seriously!

OK, I wish I had more time here... but I gotta go.  'Daily grind', ya know... whatever.

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Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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'Pictures, pictures.'..

...and more 'pictures'!
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by PAM


I saw this 2012 'chick flick' on Star Movies called, "The Vow", just now.  It featured Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in a sort of predictable plot that, to be fair, had a few quite touching moments.  

The happily married couple, Paige (McAdams) and Leo (Tatum), met a vehicular accident.  This caused Paige to suffer brain trauma, resulting in her losing a few years of her memory, including how her life with Leo began and came about.  For some reason, she remembered her past before Leo, including a past relationship.  This caused her to reunite with her rich family, which she deserted before meeting Leo because of her father's infidelity in which he cheated on her mother with Paige's closest friend. But even this, Paige did not remember.  Leo had never met Paige's family before the accident, and meeting them made him realize how different Paige's old life was compared with the one she lived with him.  Rather than imposing himself to her, being her husband, Leo respected Paige's request for space as she traced her way back to her life with him before the accident.  He tried to remind Paige of their love instead - by courting her all over again, which warmed Paige's heart as she was drawn to him naturally.  I admit, that's sweet. 💖  All the time he was spending in making her fall all over again took a toll on Leo's financially precarious new business though.  Paige's rich father, who wanted to take advantage of her condition to win her back, offered to save the business if Leo divorced Paige.  Leo resisted, but then when Paige started to feel frustrated by how she was unable to recall her life with Leo, moving closer to her family and farther away from Leo, he let her go by agreeing to the divorce.

Paige picked up the pieces, starting from what she can recall from old life with her rich family, including her old plan to study Law with prodding from her father.  But, it did not work because she kept gravitating to her real interest, which was art - the same thing that led her to Leo, who was into music production and owned a recording studio.  Later, when her best friend approached her to apologize for her affair with Paige's father that caused Paige to turn her back on her family in the past, she was shocked.  She questioned her family on how they used her loss of memory to regain her favor.  The same is true with her previous boyfriend, who used her loss of memory of her marriage to Leo and her memory of their previous relationship to his advantage.  Realizing how she is being gently manipulated, Paige turned him down all over again. 

And then she realized Leo's patience and sincerity in helping her find her way back to her life - in her own terms.  As she started to miss Leo's presence in her life, she found 'the marriage vow' that she wrote in her wedding with Leo.  She realized his love to her... and she fell in love all over again.

The End.

I think there was very little chemistry between McAdams and Tatum.  And, Tatum was doing 'his acting thing' again - the emotion not reaching his eyes.  And because the eyes are the windows to the soul, that deprived the audience from looking into Leo's soul.  The grief, the love, the frustration, the excitement, the joy - they simply lacked depth in Tatum's portrayal of Leo... although he seemed to try.  It's a good thing that he is really good looking, 😅 otherwise, it would have been unbearable to watch. But McAdams... ah, she's great - as usual! 👏  She always brings the character she plays to life.  She is awesome like that.  However, in spite of McAdams' beautiful portrayal of Paige's character, the movie is not all that great.  The best that I'd probably remember about it is hearing The Cure sing "Pictures of You" while the credits rolled.  Oy! 💓

"Remembering you standing quiet in the rain

as I ran to your heart to be near...

Looking so long at these pictures of you

but I never hold on to your heart."

My goodness, what a song!  How melancholy, but, man, so beautiful!  They don't make songs this beautiful anymore these days. But then, even in those good old days of brilliance in music, The Cure was truly exceptional.  So, yeah... past, pictures, memories.  🎵"There is nothing in the world that I ever wanted more." 🎶 And you wish you'd just drown in them for a moment... drown in the beauty of it all rather than stare at this present ugliness, this imposing monstrosity called 'reality'.  

Then again, aren't we responsible of our own 'reality'?  In that case, I choose to move on from this ugliness.  WELCOME, HAPPINESS!

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Video credit:  Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.

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