It's the last day of the year and I am fidgeting.

So my New Year's resolution is this: stop fidgeting. Be cat-like, instead.

Keeping Up With Ebert

Reading Roger Ebert's Best Films of The Decade and seeing Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" (2009) in the list (in the number 2 spot, to be precise) recalls to my mind a conversation I recently had with my brother. He was asking me why I liked "The Hurt Locker" so much. Going into know-it-all mode, I launched into a tirade about how the movie's plot didn't really seem linear, therefore it was different and I liked things that weren't part of the bandwagon, how the focus was mainly on the character and how everything else was built around his motivations, etc. I ended my little spiel with "did you know that it was directed by a woman?" He was surprised (funny and sad that it still surprises people that women can be as good as men, if not better). But I preferred to think that what induced the reaction was the fact that the movie was really what one might call a "guy movie", but then, again, this is another problematic statement, which can be problematized in a number of ways, but which I will not launch into for fear of further digressing from the topic, which is Roger Ebert's best films of the decade.

Whew.

Okay.

So, anyway, Roger Ebert being who he is, it pleased me to note that I had seen quite a number of the films on his list, a few of which I had written about--or,at least, made some quick post--in this blog. Let's see, so Jason Reitman's "Juno" (2007) was there and so was Spike Jonze's "Adaptation" (2002). The Coen Brothers' "No Country For Old Men" (2007) got a spot. Guillermo Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006) made it, too.

Hmm? What was that? Oh, yeah, his top movie of the decade was Charlie Kaufman's "Synechdoche, New York" (2008) which inspired this conversation between a geek friend and I.

I should remind myself to come up with my own list. Hmm. Wheels in the mind turning...

Here's to more good films for you and me...
Cheers!

Come in, 2010

I spent New Year at work, and, in that respect, at least, it was no different from last year.

Otherwise, things were better.

You know that lightness of being (which was in no way unbearable, by the way) that people have when they're happy? I felt that. The last New Year I remember feeling that way was when I was a small kid. Long time ago. You know, all wide-eyed and bright-eyed and content and excited, at the same time? It felt good to be my age and feel good and actually look forward to the coming year.

Wishing you that lightness of being, too.


Happy New Year, reader. Things will be better, you'll see.
=)

The Proverbial New Year's Resolution

The indefatigable Wowoo and I were having a chit-chat in our work stations (his desk is across mine) and we kinda got to exchanging bits about our weekend, with EJ nearby providing the occasional snicker, chuckle and witch's laugh.

I had quite some stuff to tell him about--what with the Friday afternoon Starbucks date I had with Jackie and Kim, the Friday night Margarita drinking binge (ok, just two glasses, lol) I had with my dear friend, Rowell, the Saturday night Serendra coffee session with Myts and the Northerners, and last night's family dinner at Rack's--so it was quite an animated conversation. We talked about John Travolta's sixteen-year-old son's recent death and the former's 5 private planes and very own airstrip (oh, the rich! the rich!), Tom Cruise and Scientology, and some stuff about Embassy and West Gate. Sunday is one of the worst days for working, and my team and I have to look for ways--different ways--to keep ourselves awake, and small talk is one of them.

As if that's something new.

Anyway.

Wowoo asked me what my New Year's resolution was--his was to eat at all the restaurants he hasn't eaten in, he said--and I told him that mine was to make it a point to count my blessings. He gave me a blank stare, like I was the most boring person on earth. "That's it? Count your blessings? But that's inane, so... so... do-able!" He looked at the new Charles and Keith pair I was wearing and, knowing my penchant for hoarding heeled footwear, suggested for me to make it my resolution to buy a pair of shoes in every mall that I go to. Oh, but I've done that lots of times, was he kidding?

Anyway, for the second time.

Counting one's blessings, though quite trite and insignificant for most, can be one of the toughest things to do. I certainly find it a challenging task to establish consistency on and although I know that it just might be the one cure for a pessimistic, depressive worry-wart like me, knowing alone isn't enough. But it does help to be aware, to recognize that one is fortunate to have the things that one has, to be with the people that one loves, to have a roof over one's head, to not worry about what to buy one's dinner with, to be up and about and not strapped to a hospital bed and depend on a respirator for survival. You know, things like that, things like the fifty-peso bill in one's wallet, or the healthy little daughter waiting for one to come home.

I, of course, did not voice all that out. For fear of being accused of being cheezy and sentimental, I kept mum about it, and said, instead, "how about this one, I could make it my goal to try all the cocktail drinks in the book. Won't that be neat?"

It elicited a grin and a "that's more like it."

I hate beer. I always have.

Happy New Year

I spent New Year's Eve in the office.

When the clock struck midnight, a group of us (who were lucky because our scheduled break time fell right on the hour that mattered) trooped downstairs to watch the fireworks and to listen to the paputok and the torotots. There were tears in my Boss's eyes, she said she missed her mom, who's in the States.

There was a giant lump in my throat, as well.

Looking at the brilliant colors exploding in the dark sky, I couldn't help thinking that there was something wrong with the setting. The first day of the year, which comes but once a year, has always been meant to be spent with family and loved ones.

I just consoled myself with the fact that every day of the year comes but once a year, if you think about it, and that I shouldn't start 2009 being sad.

My one resolution for this year, after all, is to count the blessings that come my way.

Here's to a happy 2009.
:)