Random.

You know that series, Drop Dead Diva? I absolutely love it. When I still had the time, and the personal laptop to download illegal episodes, I used to watch it religiously. R-E-L-I-G-I-O-U-S-L-Y! Just caught an episode now after... what... a year of not watching and I'm still a fan. Makes me kind of wonder why, in the first place, I stopped.

...

Can't remember.

Point is... I'm still a fan! Why? Because I think the characters are quirky, the cases are easy (haller... their team always wins) and despite being a chubby li'l tubby, Jane Bingam still bags the man!

Its dumb TV at its smartest. How can you not love it?

--------------------------------------

Here's another thing I love: Fish. No, not eating them... not really a fan of seafood, actually. Find most of them... malansa. I do love sushi though! But wait, I'm getting offtrack.

I love fish. I love watching fish. I love reading about fish. I love taking care of fish. And you know what I realized over the weekend... so does my dad! He got me into it.

We were at Cartimar last Saturday and I swear it was like letting two kids loose in the carnival. We both have this obsession over things that swim, its amazing! So anyway, we kinda spent a lot on aquarium stuff...

He bought plants, a new "house" for his fish, 20 black mollies, proper bulbs for our tanks (they have this pretty light pink glow that's apparently better for the water plants. Who knew?!), and a brand new water pump. I bought 6 baby koi, 3 silver dollars, and 2 log-like tubes that my fish still think are giant blue predators out to get them. Sheesh. They're all stuff our aquariums need! I swear. Except for the baby koi. Those were for the pond and I got them because they were pretty.

Anyway... Dad and I now have a new hobby. Fish watching after dinner!

--------------------------------------

I'm on the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Catching Fire kind of ended strange to me, and I'm hoping Mockingjay will not disappoint. Wondering if I'd have felt differently if I read Book 2 before Book 3 came out in 2009... Anyway, still reading thru it like wildfire.

Running out of books to read. Again.

--------------------------------------

And, oh yeah. Turning 30 by the end of this week. Ack. I honestly don't know how I feel about it right now. I think the workload is numbing the pain of goodbye-twenties, but soon as the stress wave's over, I know I'll be mourning the loss of my youth like there's no tomorrow.

Okay, I exaggerate. Heck, maybe it'll turn out to be just another day, and just another year. Don't think anything life changing will happen anytime soon. Dear God, I hope not, because I don't think I can handle drastic change right now.

Due to the happily congested February of TV5, the birthday has been moved to March anyway. I have 5 new shows launching on Feb... WOOHOO! And that's not counting the oh-so-many change-in-schedule the new shows will be inducing... WHOOPTIDOO!

Okay, starting to sound crazy.

Think I'll watch my fish.

Tears for Rue

*Chawie, this post has spoilers for The Hunger Games. I know you want to read but don't. Turn away now and close this window. You can read it after you've read the gift I will give you.*

It's been a while since I cried over a character in a book. I think the last was for Dobby's death in the Shell Cottage chapter of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows. Although many fictional friends pass away in the telling of their story; Kelsier, Dumbledore and Hedwig, Marley (oops, not fictional! God rest his happy doggy soul), No tears were shed for them. When Dobby died though, and Harry decided to bury him in the most manual way possible, I was bawling like a little girl

Cut to January 2012 and my cousin, Mike, gives me the trilogy of the Hunger Games as his 2012 Christmas / birthday gift. I never thought of reading the book because I felt it too mainstream for my taste. Everyone's read The Hunger Games, the youth of today's raving about it... and those are the kind of books I tend to avoid. Amazingly though, the minute I start reading, I soar thru the pages. Read it faster than The Alloy Of Law (and that's saying something!). I'm not sure if its because of the very basic first person way its written, or the other-worldly yet totally relatable plot, or the seemingly real trials Katniss Everdeen and her fellow tributes go thru. Whatever it is, I'm loving the series so much more than expected. Fan base and popularity now understood. The story's simplicity gives even those with zero to negative imagination the opportunity to appreciate the Panem painted by Suzanne Collins.

I was not, however, prepared when the tears started to come with Rue's passing. Rue: tribute of District 11, tiny girl who flew over ground with her unique ability of jumping from treetop to treetop, so small and innocent thrown into the brutality of the games. Of course it's expected that characters would die in the story. Its a twisted version of Survivor! The way to win, afterall, is to literally be the last contestant left alive. Rue's death was expected. But Katniss' love and affection for her, even after death was not.

Katniss: tribute of District 12, essentially Rue's enemy in the games because let's face it, in their setting, anyone who isn't you is out to get you. Sole survivor, remember. But Katniss is our story's lead, and although fighting for survival, befriending Rue gave her the opportunity to relive life back in District 12, back home. Because Rue reminded her so much of her little sister.

Rue's death shatters her.

She stayed by Rue's side as life slowly slipped out of her, singing her to sleep as it were; it was Rue's last request she sing to her. Then she adorned Rue's lifeless body with flowers, right before it was taken away from the arena. It was her version of Harry's burial of Dobby.

And I think that's what gets me. How these characters ... actually people to me...  mourn. How the loss of their loved ones turns into a feat of strength and resilience. Despite the pain, they power through, chin up. Not crumbling into a pile of uselessness (but of course who am I to say that's no proper way of dealing with death). It's just, being strong and standing ground is how I hope to be when time comes for me to face the loss of a loved one.

I'm now in Book 2 yet the loss of Rue is still a painful memory. Katniss mourns and I mourn with her, but the story is far from over and now well beyond the 74th Hunger Games of Panem. Hopefully, the rest of the series won't make me cry... but as of now... that's highly unlikely.

Free Falling

... (although was never in my bucket list)... Check!

I was in Subic 2 weekends ago with a few old friends (and some new ones, too!) and our main agenda for the trip was to try out a few activities of Tree Top Adventure. Its this semi-newish facility within SBMA grounds that feature Canopy Rides, Ziplines and Trail Treks in the forest.

(So where's the free falling there?)

***Insert video of me falling here***

***Video to follow soon as I get the file***

It's called the Tree Drop. Adventure facilitators literally drop participants down from a height of 60-feet or so.  Those dumb enough to allow a dude on the ground with a lone rope to dictate the next phase of their life enjoy less than half a second's worth of fall, five minutes or so of pure endorphins, and possibly a paradigm shift.

Half a second of fall. Literally. That's all it was. Maybe even shorter.

I don't remember much but I do know that I was being uberly confident at first, not allowing my fear of heights to take over because we had an impressionable eleven year old with us and I wanted to make sure I had my brave face on for her. Pseudo-confidence (a.k.a. idiocy) brought on the idea that I volunteer to be the first drop. A quick prep and a harness attachment later, and suddenly I was slowly being ushered out on to the ledge of the platform we were on. The facilitator / comedian asked me to let my feet fall off the edge and I retorted with a loud "Huh?!" So he goes into this tirade of "You asked for this, you paid for it, now go enjoy the experience," while slowly but surely leading me into suspension. I would not, however let go of his hand! When he finally pried his fingers free of my kung-fu grip, shaking the pain off in the process, he told me to look at the camera and smile.

Then, swoosh, I was falling!

I don't remember screaming but according to my friends and the video, I was... LOUDLY!

The five minutes of endorphin rush came soon as my feet touched the ground. I could not, for the life of me stop laughing! And smiling! I was sooooo happy!

Happy:
1) to still be alive!
2) to have done such a crazy, insane stint like that! Free fall?!?!?! Are you kidding me!!!!
3) to now have this little story to write about whole thing.

The Tree Drop experience brought me the unexpected joy of letting go. Inhibitions, limits, comfort zones, bah! All they do is make life suck! So long as its within a reasonable expense, so long as the responsibilities remain intact, why not go for it! What's the harm in doing something... totally, totally out of the ordinary.

To be out of the ordinary... to be extraordinary was the very reason I started insights from the movies. I had something to say, and I wanted to say it to whomever would listen. It took 60-foot free fall reminded me of that.

Was it terrifying? Yes.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

Tree Drop at SBMA'sTree Top Adventure comes with personalized paradigm shifts. Get yours now! :)

Rant

Some people are just plain evil.

Sorry, but I just saw the picture of the dog who was abused by kids who placed firecrackers in his mouth... DAMN!

You know what, there's already too much pain and violence in the world so really, I don't get why people... CHILDREN... have the gall to add on to it. Isn't famine, war, disease, poverty and everything else negative in this society enough? Do we really have to inflict pain unto others? Pain for the sake of entertainment?!?

It's sickening what those monsters did to this innocent soul. Whatever evil came upon these kids to do such a horrific crime to another living being, may it be gone from the world.

I'm so angry!!!!! And sad. Damn.

Hallu 2012

Image from fresh picked whimsy

The image says it all.

Happy New Year, one and all! :)

Hitting Trenta

I look nowhere near trenta.

I act nowhere near trenta.

I think nowhere near trenta.

...

And I don't think that last one is much of a compliment.  :|

2012 is the year of the TRENTA! Ayikie! Just another milestone to adulthood. Wonder what'll come next?