Perks

Dear friend,

I watched Perks today. I'm so, so, so glad I did. Really good movies are far and few lately, I think. Anyway, I've been excited about the movie ever since I read the book and saw the trailer. The book made me depressed, honestly. I cried buckets in various chapters of the book (which made me self-conscious because other people who've read the book said that they were inspired and uplifted) and felt a certain heaviness after I finished reading. I kind of expected that I'd be depressed over the movie too but strangely enough, it didn't. The film was...poignant. There's a sadness there that was just too massive for words, but then there was also a kind of happiness that pervaded in the entire film. It was happy and sad. Just like how Charlie said...

"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."

So here I am being a complete fangirl over Perks. I liked the book, but the movie just made me like Perks even more. Here are some reasons why I actually made a fist pump when the movie finished:

The film's screenplay was written by the novel's author, Stephen Chbosky. The film was also directed by the author. Because the movie was written and directed by the novelist, he had complete control of how the film looked like. He knew each of the characters inside out and he rewrote the novel into a screenplay that had all the important elements that were needed. The book was truly brought to life. I think that's amazing.

I liked the cast. I thought that Logan Lerman was perfect as Charlie. He was so endearingly awkward. I could finally understand why Charlie the wallflower managed to find himself in the midst of friends who love him dearly. Logan is a great actor. I can totally see him win awards in the future. Ezra Miller was amazing as Patrick, I can't imagine anyone else who could play that sassy character. It fit him like a glove. I also liked Mae Whitman, who played Mary Elizabeth. I never thought much of the character she played while I was reading the book but in the movie she had so much more personality and was one of the sources of humor in the film. Finally, I liked Emma Watson as Sam. I think her acting has vastly improved and has veered far, far away from Hermione Granger. She was able to fulfill the idea of Sam, which from Charlie's perspective, was far from perfect but perfect nonetheless. I'm so glad the cast were good actors.

I liked that it made me cry. Weird, I suppose, but true. I guess I can relate to all the characters in different ways.

I liked the ending scene. I loved the last bit of script with Charlie talking. The way it was written....ugh, it was perfect. It kind of made you feel infinite, even though you're just confined in your seat.

After all the blabbering I've done, the point I'm trying to get at is that Perks is a movie that I'm glad exists. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of it so I can watch it anytime I want. I guess that's all I really want to say.

Love always,

Isa

30 before 30

I saw this in my friend's blog and decided to follow in her footsteps. She actually posted this topic a while back and I've been struggling to complete my own thirty things since I read hers. Making a list like this is harder than I thought because it's not a bucket list. It is, kind of, but not really because you don't really want to "kick the bucket" at thirty. I'm rambling again. Anyway, enough chatter. Here it is, in no particular order:

1. Learn how to cook real food
2. Live on my own
3. Travel to different Asian countries (Europe seems like a distant dream right now. Maybe after 30?)
4. Swim with dolphins and/or whalesharks
5. Make someone happier
6. Fulfill a wish
7. Learn how to fix a car
8. Have a byline in a widely-read publication (at least once!)
9. Write a script
10. Eat authentic pho, ramen, bibimbap, satay, curry, and other delicious Asian cuisine (when I do #3)
11. Learn how to scuba dive
12. Be a proper surfer and catch my own wave
13. See a real, live panda bear
14. Learn a dance genre well
15. Teach someone a skill that I know
16. Learn a skill well enough that I can teach someone else
17. Travel alone?
18. Try starting a business
19. Get a promotion
20. Be good at yoga
21. Bungee jump
22. Learn to read music
23. Be able to sufficiently play an instrument (meaning, beyond the basics)
24. Dye my hair (or some part of my hair) blue/pink/purple
25. Re-learn how to drive a stick shift
26. Climb a mountain
27. Watch UAAP Cheerdance Competition live
28. Get a master's degree
29. Learn more about photography
30. Learn some basic self-defense moves

happy place thoughts

I'm slightly intoxicated. I can feel it in my toes, which means that I'm in my happy place. Thought it is a great state to be in, being intoxicated, I still would rather be intoxicated in other ways.

My friend is in the throes of a different kind of intoxication. The kind of intoxication that comes from another person. You know...the relationshippy kind. I don't know if anyone else have felt that kind of feeling...the moments when you feel ten times better about yourself and you think that anything you do is better because this one person thinks you're a million bucks. You feel great, needless to say and you get this boost of confidence that comes from nowhere in particular. You get some sort of strength from that.  I haven't felt like that in a while.

So here I am slightly intoxicated and thinking about love.

Love...it's not something that can really be talked about simply because it can't really be defined in the same way. It eludes me. But even though it eludes me I still have some thoughts about it. Being without it makes you think about it, apparently.

Love...it's a gift. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's an effing cliche. But they don't become cliches for no reason. It's a gift because it's something that you don't come across everyday. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides that they'll fall in love...they just sort of do it...I guess. It just happens. In fact, it's more than a gift. It's a privilege. A few years back, I never thought that about love that way. In my mind, I wanted an "epic" kind of love. You  know, the kind of love that has so much obstacles and hardships and fights that you just have so much to deal with. Blame it on television shows. I my mind just had the idea that if we had more hardships we'd appreciate each other more.  But I realized that it's not that way. Somehow, for the better part of my life, I had some skewed, fairy tale outlook on what love is. Love isn't about falling in love with each other at first sight, it's about truly seeing a person and deciding not to look away. It's not about the mushy, chasing-each=-other-around-the-park-while-laughing stuff that makes up a relationship, it's about staying when everything is all fucked up. It's not about needing someone, it's about wanting and choosing to want someone to be there. Anyone can feel love...but not everyone can choose to love, I think.

My toes are numb. Goodnight.

Isa Dreams of Sushi, too.

There's a documentary I watched recently that I can't seem to shut up about. Take a look at the trailer and see why the question as to whether or not I'd like the film was a resounding "uh, duh."

Jiro Dreams Of Sushi is a documentary that places a spotlight on sushi and the master who makes them, 85-year-old Jiro Ono. I knew I had to watch this documentary the moment I saw the trailer because one, the documentary features the only sushi chef to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, and two, I love sushi. Sushi is a beautiful, beautiful thing! If there are other movies or videos that show high definition images of sushi, I'm all for it.

The documentary focuses on Jiro, his 10-seat hole in the wall, 30,000 yen a plate restaurant at the Ginza metro station, his two sons and his legacy to each of his shokunin and to the sushi-eating world.

The film is food porn, a fact that made my sushi-loving heart soar. The 1 hour 20 minute minute film had a rich source of what I'd call sushi montage. Various images of ingredients being sliced, charred, flipped, massaged and finally put together under the graceful hands of Jiro all come together to present the final image; a single piece of sushi placed carefully atop a shiny black rectangular plate, ready to be enjoyed.

It's beautiful, it's artful, it made me hungry.

Aside from the breathtaking imagery, the film is able to impart nuggets of wisdom through the voice of Jiro, who has strong opinions regarding discipline, work ethic and the journey towards perfection.

Opinions and statements like this:

One thing I also liked about the film was that it gave foreign eyes like mine a glimpse of the market, where Jiro's son visits everyday to buy a day's worth of seafood. I like the idea that there are specialists for each kind of seafood, which in turn guarantees quality. The Japanese take quality really seriously, apparently. I also liked that the film touched on the issue of the depleting tuna population. Jiro and his shokunin are in a business that relies heavily on the gifts of the sea, and it is for that same reason that they put importance in its sustainability for the next generation.

The film, in my opinion, drives a simple point: Jiro is the best because he loves what he does. Everything else, his role as father (he was rarely home), chef (he has three Michelin stars), and teacher (his apprentices went on to have their own restaurants), as well as his constant need to better himself are after effects of this one point. It's inspiring.

If it's not obvious already, I liked the movie. It made me want to be in Japan and take a place in one of his seats. It made me dream of sushi, but in a different way. Unfortunately, this dream is a bit far-fetched. Ticket to Japan + 30,000 yen + expenses that will let me live = Bankruptcy! So I'll just resign myself to just reading about the whole infamous Jiro experience here.

But I'll keep dreaming about sushi, anyway. :)

5 Things You Can Think About Instead Of Your Non-Existent Lovelife

Good choice, man. 

Higher Education. Nothing can take away every bad thought about dying alone as a cat lady better than a thick pile of reading materials and pending papers and reports. Think about pursuing a post-collegiate education. Or at the very least, ponder on the idea of pursuing it. Is that really what you want regardless of whether or not everyone else seems to be going back to school? Can you handle a full-time job and school at the same time? Going back to school may mean less time for everything else that's going on in your life. But on the up side, getting another degree can land you a better job 2-3 years from now. Think about it.

Business Ventures. If you can't have success in the love department, pine for financial success instead. Money may not buy you happiness (in the truest sense of the word), but it sure can buy a crapload of distractions. There's nothing wrong with wanting to add some hard-earned cash into your bank account. The more, the money-er! But let's not discount that having a business is a great learning experience, too.

Hobbies. Everybody needs something that they enjoy doing. Otherwise, the world would be a bleak, boring, meaningless life. That's where hobbies come it. They must serve as bearers of sunshine and fun and meaning. Whether it be something fun and dynamic like Ultimate Frisbee or something more subdued like baking cookies, or sitting down to a good book, what's important about having a hobby is that you like it. Think about the things that you like to do and imagine what you'd like to do with that in the years to come. Who knows? Maybe that hobby could turn out to be a lifelong passion.

Your Job. An important thing that you should think about to begin with since, well, it keeps you alive. But consider why it's an important thing to think about. What was it that Lady Gaga said about a career?

"Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you're wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn't love you anymore."

Thank you, Lady Gaga. Point taken. For some people (like me), thinking about a successful career is more difficult and nerve-wracking than anything else, which is probably an even better reason why you should spend more time using your brainwaves for that.

Your friends' love lives. If you can't have your own love life, live vicariously through theirs. Most likely, if they're not sharing their lovey dovey evening plans with you, they're asking you advice about disagreements they've had with their significant other. That will probably be the only time you'll feel good that you're single because you don't have to deal with the drama. But you can generously lend an ear and offer words of wisdom (that you've carefully thought about, of course).

Spice Girls: Viva Forever!

I recently watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics in London (I missed the thing entirely!) and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over me when I saw the Spice Girls perform their most popular songs. 

I am a Spice Girls baby. I loved the Spice Girls the first time I saw the "Wannabe" music video and the rest was a history filled with their albums being played on loop in our car on the way to school every morning. I embraced the crazy outfits, the sky high platform shoes, Scary's tongue ring, Sporty's back handspring, the different personas, I loved it all. I sang their songs constantly (I only found out later on that "2 become 1" was a really sexy song! I sang that song without knowing what it was about!) and memorized the dance from their "Stop" video. Oh, and I remember watching the Spice World movie with my siblings when it came out.

Who didn't love these girls, honestly?












Back then, my favorite Spice Girl was Baby because she was cute and girly and the youngest. And for a little kid like me, she was probably the most accessible because of that. But now, years later, I find myself favoring the one I didn't care most about when I was a child: Posh. The reason why I favor her now might have something to do with the fact that he's married to David Beckham and that they have a successful marriage by Hollywood standards, but I also like her because she managed to make something of herself after her days of being a Spice Girl  wrapped up. She probably didn't want to rest on her laurels and live the rest of her days being known as a person that she was for only a small period of time, which is admirable, I think.

But I'm getting off tangent here. The Spice Girls! Watching them perform again after their break up  over a decade ago and a brief reunion in 2007 was something that made me feel like I was a little kid again. It even prompted me to look for their old albums so I can play them back whenever I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could still sing along to "Wannabe" and "Spice World" and was pleased that the girls looked better than ever. Is it weird that I'm happy for a group of strangers?

It's nice to know that even though the years have brought on so many changes since they hung up their clogs, their music still causes 20-something people like me to feel the giddy excitement we used to feel years ago. That goes for any musician who've made an impact in the music world, really.

Long live the Spice Girls! They will forever have a place in my beating 90's pop loving heart.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's the middle of the night and the rain still hasn't let up. It's been days and it's raining like there's no tomorrow. For some, it seems like there really is no tomorrow. For some, tomorrow is gone. According to news reports, many people have died because of these torrential rains and the consequent floods. The worst part about it is that it's still happening. It's still raining, and there's nothing man can do to stop it.

It's frustrating to know that whenever the view of the outside shows a slight bit of peace, a fresh wave of rain is just tailing behind to add more to the chaos. One literally feels powerless against nature, especially if you're the one grappling with it firsthand.

I wish the rains would stop. I wish the floods would stop rising. I wish that the reports about homes being washed away, about people getting stranded, about people drowning would stop being true.

Whoever is reading this, if this gets read at all, please pray for the rains to stop. Please pray for the safety of the people who have become victims of something infinitely bigger than any of us. It might not be much for some of you, praying, but in times of crisis it could be the only thing that saves.