It's my first day at work after a two-week absence due to chicken pox.
It's currently 2:19 in the afternoon and I have a headache. It's probably due to staring at a monitor and doing one single task for the past couple of hours.
Must..concentrate.. must..not..fall..asleep..
Dang I miss my siestas.
It's scary how your brain shifts to low-batt mode after going on a holiday from work. Surely if you stay away long enough it'll grind to a complete stop? Must keep on exercising the old girl, lest I go batty. There goes my future great scientific contribution to mankind. :))
**********************
I'm trying to go to bed early, from Sunday to Thursday, from this week onwards hoping that it will help me get up early. My target time is 11pm. So far, here's how I did:
Week 1 : Mar 25 - 29
Sun - 10:00 went to bed at 10 but tossed and turned til 1:30am I think
Mon - 11:40 er, got caught up in Second Life. Met a guy from Holland in a beach resort.. It was quite nice actually. Name of the place is Golden Sands. I'll definitely go back.
Monday 26 March 2007
Saturday 24 March 2007
Is there a doctor in the house?
When I came over to the UK, one of the things that I found highly unusual was the national health system. In the Philippines, and even Singapore, I was used to being able to walk into a hospital or a clinic and request to be seen by a doctor. Not in the UK, apparently. To be seen by a doctor in a hospital, one has to:
1. Register with a surgery house (clinic).
2. Set appointment for preliminary check-up. For me, this was four days after I registered.
3. Set another appointment to either see a doctor or a practice nurse. This was another week of waiting.
Only when your GP feels that you need specialist help, will you be directed to go to the hospital.
WHEW! It took me 2 weeks to see a GP. Something I could've done in 2-4 hours in Manila or SG. You can just imagine my bewilderment on what the fuss was all about.
I do realize that it is important for a doctor to have a patient's complete medical history before treatment but I sincerely believe this is a bit overkill.
Also, my surgery has this annoying rule of only being able to set an appointment the morning of the day you want to be seen. Now, I think that is totally absurd, given the fact that they seem to be driven by appointments. Arrgh!!
Taking out a private plan is starting to look reeaally good..
1. Register with a surgery house (clinic).
2. Set appointment for preliminary check-up. For me, this was four days after I registered.
3. Set another appointment to either see a doctor or a practice nurse. This was another week of waiting.
Only when your GP feels that you need specialist help, will you be directed to go to the hospital.
WHEW! It took me 2 weeks to see a GP. Something I could've done in 2-4 hours in Manila or SG. You can just imagine my bewilderment on what the fuss was all about.
I do realize that it is important for a doctor to have a patient's complete medical history before treatment but I sincerely believe this is a bit overkill.
Also, my surgery has this annoying rule of only being able to set an appointment the morning of the day you want to be seen. Now, I think that is totally absurd, given the fact that they seem to be driven by appointments. Arrgh!!
Taking out a private plan is starting to look reeaally good..
Wednesday 21 March 2007
Downtime
I've been down with the chicken pox for the past two weeks. I know, I know, I'm too old to have chicken pox and I'm not supposed to scratch 'em. (But it's sooo ITCHY!!) So that means I am left to my own devices for over ten days.
So what have I been doing?
1. I spend most of my time online, watching movies, clips, etc. on peekvid.com (yes, it's back up) and youtube.com. I am amazed on the time I spend on these things. I suppose I should be regretful because it is not exactly time well spent, is it? But, I'm not. Chicken pox gave me the license not to care. To be extravagant with my time.. to bum around. Bliss..
2. I did not do a single housechore. Not one, even though I'm feeling ok, just spotty. Haha!
I even let P do the cooking. Sama ko 'no? Abusado ba?
3. Nothing much! Oh, I did finish a book. Other than that, nothing much!
I'm going back to work next week.. it must end sometime.
So what have I been doing?
1. I spend most of my time online, watching movies, clips, etc. on peekvid.com (yes, it's back up) and youtube.com. I am amazed on the time I spend on these things. I suppose I should be regretful because it is not exactly time well spent, is it? But, I'm not. Chicken pox gave me the license not to care. To be extravagant with my time.. to bum around. Bliss..
2. I did not do a single housechore. Not one, even though I'm feeling ok, just spotty. Haha!
I even let P do the cooking. Sama ko 'no? Abusado ba?
3. Nothing much! Oh, I did finish a book. Other than that, nothing much!
I'm going back to work next week.. it must end sometime.
Wednesday 7 March 2007
Rock-ed
I don't know why I spend so much time online. I spend hours on the net each day, Googling.
That is why it's such a relief to come across something worth shouting about to at least make it worthwhile.
Visit the site. Support is needed.
http://www.rockedphilippines.org/index.html
That is why it's such a relief to come across something worth shouting about to at least make it worthwhile.
Visit the site. Support is needed.
http://www.rockedphilippines.org/index.html
Monday 5 March 2007
Review: The Good Shepherd
Warning: Some spoilers. If you plan on watching The Good Shepherd, move on. Go see it and come back. Nothing interesting here til then.
Jack and I went to our weekly movie date last night to catch "The Good Shephed". I wasn't particularly keen on seeing it because something about its trailer did not sit well with me. It was boasting of its star-studded cast and I was unsure of Robert de Niro as a director. Nothing against Mr. De Niro, but very few have successfully crossed the great actor-director divide. I decided on giving it a chance since I read in a feature in the Telegraph that Matt Damon, the lead actor in the movie, came across the screenplay even before being offered a part in it, when he asked his manager to give him the top 5 best unmade films in Hollywood that time. Ok, so it had big shoes to fill in my book.
The movie had good intentions but I found it meandering at some point. I knew there was something wrong when I distinctly remember thinking to myself, 'This is taking too damn long.' There were a lot of subplots that I knew were designed to enhance the characterisation for Edward Wilson, but it just didn't do it for me. So the movie built up how Wilson transformed from a poetry student who wins his teacher's affection, to a CIA top dog who barely speaks and can watch a man being tortured without flinching. This builds up for most of the movie only to have a final conflict of Wilson having to choose between his work and his son. I felt shortchanged. Don't get me wrong, choosing between family and something else is and will always be a powerful theme. However, I think, it could have been done in an equally dramatic, but more succinct way. Think "Road to Perdition". In The Good Shepherd, there were also some cliches that did not exactly make me wince but made me go, 'eh'. In the end, it can be considered as a good script, not the best in my book, but definitely has the potential of being an unforgettable movie. Now this is where direction comes in. It was a good effort for De Niro but I feel he went a bit ambitious on this one. It made me think how a good screenplay does not guarantee a good movie, which totally opposes my current view. One scene that I felt was particularly self-indulgent was when Matt Damon's character burned his father's suicide letter. All of a sudden it was slow motion up to the point when he threw the ashes complete with swelling background music. So 'Godfather'. So in the end, I concluded two things for the screenplay: one, it's not a good enough script to survive a novice director (harsh, i know) and two, I would love to see another director remake this film.
With my naysaying done, there are several things that I liked about the movie.
Matt Damon, in my opinion did a good job in this film. He has that inherently quiet person look, something, I fear, Tom Hanks doesn't have. Despite this he manages to give humanity to his character.
Angelina Jolie. I particulary liked her performance. Although, I was in doubt if her acting was indeed good or if I was just fascinated by her. What is it about this woman?
The guy who played Damon's assistant. I wished there was more of him. I feel he could've been a better foil character than that Hayes character, or that British spy.
Final verdict:
Top Rating *****
Screenplay ****
Director **
Cast ***
Jack and I went to our weekly movie date last night to catch "The Good Shephed". I wasn't particularly keen on seeing it because something about its trailer did not sit well with me. It was boasting of its star-studded cast and I was unsure of Robert de Niro as a director. Nothing against Mr. De Niro, but very few have successfully crossed the great actor-director divide. I decided on giving it a chance since I read in a feature in the Telegraph that Matt Damon, the lead actor in the movie, came across the screenplay even before being offered a part in it, when he asked his manager to give him the top 5 best unmade films in Hollywood that time. Ok, so it had big shoes to fill in my book.
The movie had good intentions but I found it meandering at some point. I knew there was something wrong when I distinctly remember thinking to myself, 'This is taking too damn long.' There were a lot of subplots that I knew were designed to enhance the characterisation for Edward Wilson, but it just didn't do it for me. So the movie built up how Wilson transformed from a poetry student who wins his teacher's affection, to a CIA top dog who barely speaks and can watch a man being tortured without flinching. This builds up for most of the movie only to have a final conflict of Wilson having to choose between his work and his son. I felt shortchanged. Don't get me wrong, choosing between family and something else is and will always be a powerful theme. However, I think, it could have been done in an equally dramatic, but more succinct way. Think "Road to Perdition". In The Good Shepherd, there were also some cliches that did not exactly make me wince but made me go, 'eh'. In the end, it can be considered as a good script, not the best in my book, but definitely has the potential of being an unforgettable movie. Now this is where direction comes in. It was a good effort for De Niro but I feel he went a bit ambitious on this one. It made me think how a good screenplay does not guarantee a good movie, which totally opposes my current view. One scene that I felt was particularly self-indulgent was when Matt Damon's character burned his father's suicide letter. All of a sudden it was slow motion up to the point when he threw the ashes complete with swelling background music. So 'Godfather'. So in the end, I concluded two things for the screenplay: one, it's not a good enough script to survive a novice director (harsh, i know) and two, I would love to see another director remake this film.
With my naysaying done, there are several things that I liked about the movie.
Matt Damon, in my opinion did a good job in this film. He has that inherently quiet person look, something, I fear, Tom Hanks doesn't have. Despite this he manages to give humanity to his character.
Angelina Jolie. I particulary liked her performance. Although, I was in doubt if her acting was indeed good or if I was just fascinated by her. What is it about this woman?
The guy who played Damon's assistant. I wished there was more of him. I feel he could've been a better foil character than that Hayes character, or that British spy.
Final verdict:
Top Rating *****
Screenplay ****
Director **
Cast ***
Unlocking the Trade
Something has to be said about the cost of services here in the UK. They're bloody expensive!
During our move to the new apartment, we misplaced the key to the storage room of the old flat so we had to change the lock. When phoning around for a locksmith, the cheapest I found was Pro-Mac, who charged £49.99 for callout charge on a Saturday morning. Add to that the price of a new lock which is around 27 quid plus VAT of 17.5%. I was expected to pay almost £100 to change a lock! Now, I may be new to the country but I think it's fair to say that that is @%$&% ridiculous! Fortunately, Tim, the locksmith, had a brain wave and said he could remove the lock pop to the shop and cut me out a key. Also, cutting a key just costs £7. Hallelujiah!
My colleague only confirmed the fact that being in the trade is very lucrative business. He's even heard of people leaving the IT industry, which already has good earning potential, to become plumbers, electricians, etc. Now, I have to agree with P when he says that there's something f@cked up about that.
During our move to the new apartment, we misplaced the key to the storage room of the old flat so we had to change the lock. When phoning around for a locksmith, the cheapest I found was Pro-Mac, who charged £49.99 for callout charge on a Saturday morning. Add to that the price of a new lock which is around 27 quid plus VAT of 17.5%. I was expected to pay almost £100 to change a lock! Now, I may be new to the country but I think it's fair to say that that is @%$&% ridiculous! Fortunately, Tim, the locksmith, had a brain wave and said he could remove the lock pop to the shop and cut me out a key. Also, cutting a key just costs £7. Hallelujiah!
My colleague only confirmed the fact that being in the trade is very lucrative business. He's even heard of people leaving the IT industry, which already has good earning potential, to become plumbers, electricians, etc. Now, I have to agree with P when he says that there's something f@cked up about that.
Me got an iPod!
It's a beautiful little black number, 30gb. Given by my lovely hubby on Valentine's Day. I knew I shouldn't have settled for that cheesy singing card as my gift for him. Oh well, ganyan talaga di ba? Minsan papalya ka talaga sa pagreregalo hehehe.. :) Pero ok lang, it has taught me to be more mindful next time. Bawi na lang sa susunod.
Anyway, he also bought me a £15 iTunes card which I know is a big gesture because we've almost always accessed our music in a different way (ha? ano, pirated? sino may sabi?? uy, orig ang mga opm ko ha..). I was so excited to buy from iTunes but had a difficult time choosing songs to purchase because I knew I could get most of them using torrent. So I ended up buying the music video of Mika's Grace Kelly. Looovve this song. He reminds me so much of Freddie Mercury.
I can see how someone can get addicted to this gadget. What kind of music do you like? Which songs do you listen to the most? The iPod becomes an extension of who you are. For example, I've just realized that the kind of pop music I like the most is of the gay camp variety. Hence, Scissors Sisters, Queen and some Steps songs currently reign supreme in my iPod. Oh, and 1 Aqua song.
Top songs:
1 - The entire Scissor Sisters debut album topped by Take Your Mama Out
2 - The entire Queen Greatest hits album topped by........(sorry, please don't make me choose)
3 - Steps - Last Thing On My Mind, Tragedy and 5,6,7,8
4 - Aqua - Cartoon Heroes
Yeba!
Anyway, he also bought me a £15 iTunes card which I know is a big gesture because we've almost always accessed our music in a different way (ha? ano, pirated? sino may sabi?? uy, orig ang mga opm ko ha..). I was so excited to buy from iTunes but had a difficult time choosing songs to purchase because I knew I could get most of them using torrent. So I ended up buying the music video of Mika's Grace Kelly. Looovve this song. He reminds me so much of Freddie Mercury.
I can see how someone can get addicted to this gadget. What kind of music do you like? Which songs do you listen to the most? The iPod becomes an extension of who you are. For example, I've just realized that the kind of pop music I like the most is of the gay camp variety. Hence, Scissors Sisters, Queen and some Steps songs currently reign supreme in my iPod. Oh, and 1 Aqua song.
Top songs:
1 - The entire Scissor Sisters debut album topped by Take Your Mama Out
2 - The entire Queen Greatest hits album topped by........(sorry, please don't make me choose)
3 - Steps - Last Thing On My Mind, Tragedy and 5,6,7,8
4 - Aqua - Cartoon Heroes
Yeba!
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