Just Did

Note: I already posted this on my previous blog, click here. I just had to move it here so I could file my short stories under one category. Anyway, usual reminder: blogger’s original work. Please see legal and ethical reminders on the sidebar. Thanks very much. Again, this is fiction.

When one of my bestfriends and I were at a resort somewhere in the south three years ago for his despedida party (he would be flying to London in less than two days), we decided to leave the crowd for a moment and stay on the beach. We were lying on the sand. I was staring at the moon and I was quite sure that he was staring at me.

He was the first to speak. “Have you given it a thought?”

“Not much,” I replied.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t. Why does it always have to have a reason?”

He didn’t utter a single word. And then he sat up and felt the grains on his palms.

Then he spoke again. “We’re bestfriends.”

“Yeah.”

“And it’s all we could ever be. We’re bestfriends. And we’re both guys.”

I just looked at him while he stared blankly at the sea. Then he somewhat rubbed his palms against his knees, and said, “So you really don’t feel anything for me? Anything more than friendship?”

“I don’t.”

Silence fell.

“You’re too honest, it hurts. You never lie. Never.”

Then the moon caught my attention again. I just stared at it for God knows how many seconds.

“I just did,” I said.

By the time I could even finish that sentence, he was already standing, about to leave. He didn’t even hear what I just said. I watched him as he walked away.

“I just did.” I whispered.

We’ve never seen each other again since.

picture stolen from jakehowlett.com

Movie Review | The Invasion (2007)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond

I am a big sci-fi fan. And an even bigger Nicole Kidman fan. For me, there’s nothing more entertaining than seeing a sci-fi film. And there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing moving images of Nicole Kidman (die Keith Urban, die! nah, I love Keith, too) projected on the big screen. So imagine how ecstatic I was feeling yesterday when I was just about to watch “The Invasion,” the third remake of the 1956 film “The Invasion of Body Snatchers.” And when I finally did, ah, it was just heaven. I felt like leaving Earth for an hour and a half and felt happier upon coming out of the theatre.

A lot of people might throw rocks at me now. The movie is not perceived by many as good. In fact, they say it’s horrible. Seeing these reviews, I might be the only one in this planet who actually liked this film. But I really did. It is not the best film of the year, but it’s good.

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The Promil Kid Strikes Back

Status: Famished
Music: Lil L.O.V.E. – Bone Thugs N Harmony feat Mariah Carey

I didn’t realise how obsessed my 3-year old nephew had become with Cartoon Network (particularly Dexter’s Laboratory) until I entered MY room one morning. And there he was, sitting on the floor, smashing a scientific calculator on the wall, thinking he could fix it afterwards. When I opened the door, he turned to me and angrily hollered: “Tito (uncle), get out of my laboratory!!!”

This is bad, I thought. He thinks he’s Dexter and this is his laboratory. I knew I had to do something about it.

So I looked at him and bellowed, “Excuse me, kid! This is MY laboratory! Get out of MY laboratory.”

Bloody kid. I am Dexter!!!

# # #

My nephew is the only pupil at his school (a community pre-school) who can speak English so fluently. That’s because we train him at home. We always encourage force the kid to answer in English when asked in English. And because when he’s with his playmates, he speaks Tagalog (our native language), we make sure that he talks in English at home.

So what happens when he fails to respond in English? I usually give him “the look” — you know, the kind of look that our parents used to give us when we were little to let us know that we were doing something bad and that we must stop it right at that moment. Whenever my nephew realises he’s being given the look, he switches to English immediately.

Last week, I was shopping at a local mall with my nephew. He said he wanted a kiddie drum set. So we entered Toy Kingdom and began looking for one. A sales crew approached us and showed us two gorgeous sets: yellow and blue. The sales crew and I shared the same thought that the yellow one was better (but yeah, a little more expensive). But my nephew seemed to have made up his mind already.

“I like the blue one.”

But the sales crew was being persistent.

“I told you I like the blue one. I hate yellow!”

The sales crew was astonished by how my nephew speaks in English faultlessly. So he talked to the kid in English, “But this one is better.”

My nephew, being his usual self — stubborn and annoying — began shouting. “I said I don’t like yellow! It’s hideous!!!”

Even I was surprised to hear the word “hideous.” That’s a very big word for a 3-year old Filipino kid. So I asked my nephew, “Do you know what hideous means?”

“Yeah. Like him.” He pointed at the sales crew and turned to me again. “He’s hideous.” He said as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

I felt embarrassed for the sales crew. So to tell my nephew he was doing something bad, I gave him the look.

His eyes narrowed. His brows met. Confused, he protested, “That was English!”

Pictures courtesy of mysimon.com, istockphoto.com and cartoon-secrets.com

Movie Review | A Love Story (2007)

Genre: Drama, Romance
Director: Maryo J. Delos Reyes
Stars: Aga Muhlach, Angelica Panganiban, Maricel Soriano

This was the first local movie of the year that I swore I would definitely watch. Although I already knew what the twist was weeks before its first screening, I was still as excited as hell. In fact, I promised Tonet to watch it with her but since she couldn’t find time, I forgot about the promise and saw the movie alone. And when I went out of the theatre after watching this latest Star Cinema offering, all I could say was “WOW.”

The film is not just impressive, it’s excellent. And there are many factors that contribute to its brilliance. First, the story is simple. As the title conspicuously tells us, it’s a film about love. But more specifically, it carefully discusses marriage. It’s the usual couple-mistress story but tackled in a way that will make you think and ask so many questions. What is right? What makes me happy? Will the right make me happy? Is choosing what makes me happy right? What do I choose? This film is a great proof that sometimes, it’s not the story that matters but how we tell the story.

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Hollow Life

Status: Empty
Music: Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan

This is a (handwritten) journal entry I wrote on February 19 this year. I just came across this page and it’s just nice to look back into my thoughts:

It’s not that I lack dopamine right now because I swear my cigarettes make sure I get my daily dose, but I really feel empty. This is not one of my drama moments. I just feel there’s something missing in my life, or something I still haven’t got. And I need to have it badly. I don’t know what it is exactly — or what they are.

The problem with me is that I want so many things and I want to have them QUICK. I want to do many things. I want to achieve so many things. I want to be so many things. Not that it’s bad. But the thing is, all my plans pile up that I don’t know what to do first and I tend to forget some of them.

Oh well. I don’t know what to do anymore. And it doesn’t make me feel good.

There. And guess what? I still feel like this. Aaaargh.

A Tale of Two Aussie Farmers. Or Two Tales.

Status: My legs are numb.
Music: Sober – Kelly Clarkson

After getting stuck in the capital city for more than two weeks (I don’t have cable TV there), I’m finally back here in my hometown where I get to have my daily dose of HBO, National Geographic, and the most important channels for me right now, CNN and BBC. And it’s not just because of their hot correspondents. (Oh don’t get me started with that, I can talk about it all day. Max Foster. Colleen McEdwards. Hotness. And John Vause, marry me. Hehehe.) Of course, I need to be completely aware of the going-ons in the international scene for my Foreign Service career path.

Anyways, besides the devastating quake in Peru, two things caught my interest and they’re about two different farmers in the land down under, Australia.

OK, the first one. David George, a 53-year old farmer was forced to spend an entire week (yes, every minute of every day of it) up a tree in a remote crocodile-infested swamp where crocs stalked him until he was rescued. Wow. Talk about patience. Everyone, give him a round of applause. I can’t even imagine myself being stranded in an island! But this guy, he spent a week up a TREE. Damn! Very admirable. But no, I won’t try it. I mean, take away my TV and I won’t stop ranting. But up a tree? Where you can’t do practically anything pleasurable. (Other than jacking off, that is.) And not to mention the hungry maneaters waiting for you to just give up and fall. Gawd. And he’s 53-years old.

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Everything Comes in Threes

The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost;
The Wise Men who visited Jesus;
Hades, Poseidon, Zeus;
the heads of Cerberus;
The Godfather series;
The Lord of the Rings;
Harry, Ron, Hermione;
Tito, Vic, Joey;
Randy, Paula, Simon;
Hanson;
Destiny’s Child, TLC, Dixie Chicks;
the musketeers, the blind mice, the little pigs;
papa bear, mama bear, baby bear;
I came, I saw, I conquered;
core, mantle, crust;
solid, liquid, gas;
protons, neutrons, electrons;
the King, the Queen, and Jack;
the number of strikes before a player is out;
I, love, you;

It was just my second chance I blew.

Mahal Na Yata Kita Mahal Na Nga Yata Kita

…

…

…

… I just freakin’ wish you feel the same for me.
Whatever it is that we have, it’s officially dead. I killed it. OK. It’s resurrected. Hehehe.

But I know, it’s never really over. And it’s not over. I hope it won’t be.

My Eyes and Nature Drive Me Crazy

Status: My eyes are in pain
Music: Miss You Like Crazy – Natalie Cole

It’s been a crazy week. And everything’s driving me crazy. But first, I would like to apologise for my unannounced week-long hiatus. I have a pretty good explanation.

Last Friday morning, I woke up and realised that my left eye was sore. And it was itchy. And teary. And sooo red. And it dawned on me: OH.MY.GOD! I got a “sore eye,” or pinkeye or bloodshot eye! What’s the medical term? Aha! Conjunctivitis. Whatever. And that simple realisation marked the beginning of a terrible week for me. The next day, both my eyes were infected. (I’ll be posting pictures soon. Hehehe). I officially became a walking viral infection. Continue reading »