Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Replacements: Predictable, but fun

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Edward O’Neil, the owner of the Washington Sentinels, is in a quandary. His team of professional football players is on strike, with a few more games left for the season. He calls on Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) from retirement to remedy the situation. With the assurance that O’Neil not interfere with his coaching style, McGinty assembles a team of misfits led by washed-out all-American quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves). McGinty and his motley crew then kick some ass in winning the games left of the season to do something that Washington has not done in seven years – advance to the playoffs.

Said to be loosely based on the 1987 NFL strike that forced the team owners to hire replacement players to rescue the business, The Replacements carries a simple enough story with a predictable ending. It is what happens in between that makes the movie sell, for me anyway. The movie talks about sports, without trying too hard to be a serious sports movie. It has romance in between, but it does not try too hard to be a chick flick either. What the movie does try hard to do, to a fault, is to please. Admittedly though, I had fun. It had Keanu Reeves on it so it should be a good enough reason to sit through the whole 1 hour and 58 minutes. And it’s not everyday that you get to see a bunch of guys line dance to Gloria Gaynor. Bring in the popcorn and you’re in for a relaxing night.

Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Serye

26 June 2009, Friday.

12 o’clock noon:

It was a slow and quiet day, which, for the office, meant no clients to entertain or paper to file. A colleague voiced out his desire to watch a movie. Taking my eyes off the computer screen for the first time since I arrived that day, I suggested Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a choice that was immediately seconded by the rest. So was the movie worth the afternoon sneak from the office? I would have to say ‘yes’ for the simple reason that it’s the nastiest piece of metal action there is.

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6 o’clock in the evening:

It being the last Friday of the month, we proceeded to Indulgence Spa for our monthly massage as soon as we arrived at the office. For Php350.00/person (anti-stress massage), we got the steam room, shower, and an iced tea for free. Maybe it was the rather long robot movie, or maybe the weeks prior to this day were just too tiring, that I slept through all those pushing and pulling. The next thing I knew, the masseuse was waking me up.

8 o’clock in the evening:

We decided to have dinner before we head home, and as the strip where the spa is located is lined with food establishments, we picked Pancake House. The servings were still small, the prices were still exorbitant, and the dish I had, Roast Beef Special Set, was not so special. I should have gone for the pasta dishes.

 28 June 2009, Sunday.

10 o’clock in the morning:

I had to go to the mall to buy some gears needed for a class I intend to enrol in. All done, I passed by Astroplus (The Block), one of the two stores – the other being Odyssey – I go to for my discs, and got myself Michael Jackson’s 25 Thriller in memory of the King of Pop. Surprisingly, I never had an album of the guy.

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1 o’clock in the afternoon:

Lunch was with my cousin whom I affectionately call ‘Krungkrung’, and we discussed about life in general over Jollibee burger value meals. I never hide the fact that I’m a McDonald’s fan, but I visit the Bee now and then. My favourite is their Jolly Hotdog, about the only chow I order when I stop by the chain. But on that day, I had a Cheesy Bacon Mushroom. The melted cheese was heavenly, the bacon was alright, the hamburger patties were kind of dull. I scraped off the mushrooms.

30 June 2009, Tuesday.

12 o’clock noon:

Lunch was at Wok Inn, and I highly recommend their sipa dish – ground beef/pork/chicken wrapped in lumpia (spring roll) wrapper garnished with tasty spices - and for a more flavourful touch, dip these rolls in their special sauce.

3 o’clock noon:

After some official business that could not be delayed, we had refreshments at Eve’s Cafe and Diner. Nothing really extraordinary with what we had – Cookies n’ Cream for me, Strawberry Smoothie for two of my colleagues and Latte for the other.

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6 o’clock in the evening:

A bit of a background: The office always makes a bet whenever Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao has a fight. When I was hired in December 2007, I was immediately listed as one of the bettors against Pacquiao. I didn’t mind; I’d vote for anybody versus Pacquiao. The Pacman had two fights since I was hired: Juan Manuel Marquez and Oscar dela Hoya. Both times, the office had dinner paid for by the losers in the bet.

My third Pacquiao bout was with Ricky Hatton. This time around, dinner was at Little Asia (Tomas Morato Avenue), a restaurant that offers delectable Asian recipes. The dishes were very reasonably priced, and we had hefty servings of every viand we ordered.

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2 July 2009, Thursday.

5.30 in the afternoon:

I so missed my former colleague and good friend, so was extremely glad when she decided to show herself after months of isolation. With three other present colleagues/friends, I had a dinner-cum-karaoke session-cum-swapping stories-cum-fun. It was at Pork Barrel, Congressional Avenuethe office frequents the one located at Kalayaan Avenue – and while the venue was not as nice and the food was not as good as the one at Kalayaan Avenue, the company more than made up for the flaws of the place.

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Whew.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Blame the rainy season…

Ulan by Cueshe

Lagi nalang umuulan
Parang walang katapusan
Tulad ng paghihirap ko ngayon
Parang walang humpay
Sa kabila ng lahat ng aking pagsisikap
Na limutin ka ay di pa rin magawa

Hindi naman ako tanga
Alam ko nang wala ka na
Pero mahirap lang na tanggapin
Di na kita kapiling
Iniwan mo akong nagiisa
Sa gitna ng dilim at basang-basa pa sa ulan

Pero wag mag-alala di na kita gagambalain
Alam ko namang ngayon may kapiling ka nang iba
Tanging hiling ko sa yo
Na sa tuwing umuulan
Maalala mo sanang may
Nagmamahal sa yo---ako

Lalalalalalalalala...