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I have decided to move my Sky Watch post to my main photoblog.  Hope you’ll follow me.

 

I Am A Believer

Six years is a long time.  No amount of watching old dvds of the  series is  enough to curb or curtail the appetite of a one that ended too soon.  Yes, I thought it ended too soon.  There was so much more topics to tackle.  But when the main character leaves, the excitement somehow follows his/her departure. 

So six years after the season ended and ten years after the first movie, the cult tv show X-Files second movie I Want To Believe comes to loyal fans who believes the search for truth by one Fox Mulder is not over yet.  Not by a long shot.  Gross estimates for the weekend, its first, is 10.2 million.  Not bad really.

How can I objectively write a review when I am a loyal fan?  I am not an avid fan, not one of those who can recite by heart what Mulder said to Scully in season 6 on a certain episode.   But I am a fan, loyal enough to own the complete series, which we bought at one time, and loyal enough to continue watching it on syndication, eleven at night on Sci-Fi channel and midnight certain days at TNT. So how can I write objectively?  No way I can do that.  So I will write subjectively.

WHAT I LIKE:  Scully has moved on, left the bureau and continued to pursue and practice medicine.  And has moved in with Mulder, which I really enjoyed.  Yay, I thought I’d never see the day when they would act a little romatic towards each other. 

Mulder has kept his belief despite being an outsider now.  But agreed to help the bureau when his help was needed, inspite of a little hesitation at the beginning.  I like how Mulder continued to be true to the Mulder I knew.

The surprise appearance (at least to me) of Skinner.  Outside of the two main characters, X-files won’t be complete without Skinner. 

I enjoyed the story line.  Yes, it’s true there is less paranormal and more CSI-like story line, but this is the bureau you know and they work on these cases more than x-file cases.  I find no boring moment.  As a matter of fact, I exerted extra efforts I never knew I had to control my bladder.  Same is true with hubby who kept whispering he needs to use the facilities but had never once motioned to stand up.  For us it was that exciting.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE:   It ended too soon.  The movie was too short.  I could go on watch them all day.  Gosh, I miss X-Files.

For objective (?) review, read this.

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Sky Watch #5

HPIM2929

Originally uploaded by airam94564

This happens to be one of my favorite shots which I took a few years ago. This is somewhere in Northern Arizona enroute to Las Vegas. Those were the days of pleasurable road trips when the cost of gas was the least of a roadtripper’s concern.

For more skywatchers, check Tom’s site.

 

Stray Thoughts on Stray Bullets

I think my my juices only flows when I do a listing.  I believe I need to make an appointment with the conjunction family before I could truly come up with one cohesive paragraph.  Anyway, here are my thoughts:

• Did anyone see No Reservations last night?  Of course you did.  This was the Saudi Arabia show where at the beginning of the episode Tony showed how he narrowed down his choice of places to visit to three places: Saudi Arabia, Buffalo, NY, and the Philippines.  He interviewed these three people whose video submissions he chose.  The guy who voted Philippines was in my opinion not the right one to accompany Tony to the country he obviously knew nothing about.  While I would love for Tony to enjoy my homeland, this was not that time.  The Saudi episode was great I thought. 
• It was not the tomato???? Really? So now it’s the poor jalapeno pepper huh!  The salmonella outbreak that pinned tomato as the carrier now has a new source, the real source?  Anyway, despite the seriousness of the threat of salmonella, our household did not stop buying and eating tomato.  Too bad for the tomato industry for all their lost income.
• American Idol summer auditions were conducted here in San Fran last Thursday, July 17.  Was this the first for the summer?  Had I known it way in advance I would have taken a day off and had a field day photographing all those wannabes.  Sayang! 😛
• Girl shouting match at the tracks?  Danica Patrick and some girl were shown yelling (okay the other girl was yelling, per Danica interview) at each other.  While I don’t mind girls driving and racing, this is a consequence when there are girls around.  Sometimes, girls can’t get along.  And I don’t want to see that in a Nascar setting, even on the sidelines.  It kills the experience for me.  (I am not a Nascar fan, I just watch sports highlights :D)
• Last Friday, darling husband and I took a day off, a much needed rest from work, plus hubby’s vacation cap is getting full.  He must use his time off or lose it.   Use it we did.  I too have plenty of vacay time available so it was easy to request a day off at a day’s notice.  So what did we do?  Nope, we did not rest, did not stay at home and vege out on the couch watching dvds.  We went for a drive, inspite of the high gas prices.  The sacrifices you do for your passion really.  It was a beautiful day, cool, typical of the summers here in the Bay.  Our destination was Stinson Beach in Marin county.  We always go to Point Reyes and drive by Stinson Beach, but never really took time to stop and go to the beach.  Wow! No wonder it is popular.  It is so gorgeous.  And crowded for a Friday.  I overheard one lady say that the idea of taking a day off must not be novel. It sure looked like a lot of people took the Friday off.  We ended our day in Marin county by driving 13 miles to Olema for a very late lunch.  Overall, Friday was a fun day.

 

Six Pack

I have not been doing a six pack in so long, so with yet again a bout of writer’s block, I thought I’d share some “intimate” details about me. 😛

1. Wednesday is my garbage day.
2. I get all my news from the internet and 11 o’clock news but I have the local newspaper delivered every day.
3. I hate horror movies, but I love watching Stephen King movies.
4. I can’t stand dusting and vacuuming and sweeping, but I enjoy ironing and doing the laundry.
5. I prefer JC Penneys over Macy’s.
6. I could spend hours playing Bejeweled.

 

Sky Watch #4

HPIM2639
Originally uploaded by airam94564

Happy Skywatch again!

Here’s my contribution this week showing the glorious sky overhead. I took this while waiting to board the Grand Canyon Railways. Yeah, this one goes to the Grand Canyon NP.

For more skywatch participants, visit Tom’s blog.

Please click image to for larger version.  Thanks.

 

Random Answers to Random Questions

I have been tagged again, this time by my lovely cyberpal/blogging bud G at Mirage As Usual.  Truth of the matter is I have seen this tag do the rounds of blogs I read and somehow I had sensed it would reach me sooner or later.  So here are my random answers:

1.  WHAT WAS I DOING 10 YEARS AGO?

I can’t remember much of what 1998 was about.  But there is one date, June 28, 1998, that stick out like a sore thumb.  It was on that day that I started my employment here at the same company where I presently work.  Which means, I have just marked my 10th year anniversary with the same company.  10 years!!!!! Talk about staying power.  On June 28, 2008, my husband and I went out for Mexican food (my perennial celebratory food) to celebrate the date.  He asked if I was celebrating my entry to this company and why???? My reply garnered a chuckle and a big hug:  I was not celebrating my entry to this company.  I was celebrating the fact that from this day on, I won’t be working with _____(my former employers) in a job that sucked to the high heavens.  He chuckled because he knew I was telling the truth and that the celebration was reasonable and well deserved.  He worked there too at the same time I was there.  That was where I met my husband. 

2.  WHAT ARE THE FIVE THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST TODAY?

1.  
   1. Decide on the specific cake I want to bake.
   2. Fold laundry.
   3. Make a grocery list for Friday’s trip to Costco.
   4. Upload pictures to costco.com for prints.
   5. Update blog

3.   SNACKS I ENJOY:

Green mango with bagoong, chips (who doesn’t love them?), watermelon seeds, cornick, ukoy

4.  PLACES WHERE I LIVED:

•  
  • Guerrero Street —-Tarlac
  • Buencamino Alley, San Sebastian Street, and MH Loyola Street —-Manila
  • East Bay—-San Francisco Bay Area (California)

5.   THINGS I’D DO IF I WERE A BILLIONAIRE:

•  
  • Buy houses for family
  • Travel
  • Set up foundation to send needy children to school
  • Give to charities (red cross, foundations for the preservation of parks, i.e. Yosemite, Kings-Sequioa, etc.)
  • Buy the San Francisco Giants team (hehehehe, totally selfish side of me)
  • Build a totally rad rec center in my hometown equipped with the latest gadgets for kids and teeners to have a place to learn and play

6.  PEOPLE I WANT TO KNOW MORE ARE:   Geri, Lizza,  Mr. Baker, Rachel,Megamom, and BW.

 

 

Hangers, corned beef, and a weekend of fishing

Something mysterious is going on in my household.  My hangers, yes clothes hangers, are one by one disappearing.  Every time I do laundry, I find myself in need of a hanger.  I checked every where for the missing hangers, up and down closets, garage where a clothesline is in place, and even garbage bins just in case they broke and had to be thrown away, but no, there is no sign of the missing hangers.  I have the same amount of clothes, but I keep needing hangers.  As a matter of fact because I needed more hangers (I fold those that I never had to wear that week), I donated more clothes to the Salvation Army, earlier than I needed or wanted just to free up more hangers.  And did it?  Nope, I just did my laundry and yes, I find the need for more hangers again.  Where did all these missing hangers go?  Did they go to the same place where missing socks go?  Help!!!!

Compounding my distress is the blatant unfair practices of our cafeteria cashiers.  Right in my face, a paying customer and co-worker of sorts, they had the gall to not only give the lady behind me on the line an extra slice of corned beef, but to charge her a dollar less than me!!!! This is why the caferia needed to raise their prices.  They are losing money because of discounts given by the cashiers. I don’t think the spike in gas price had everything to do with it.  Seriously, I am offended.  I am sure that there are more people who are friends of these cashiers that go by having lunch for a dollar.  Here it really pays to know people in the right places. 

This is not the first time I have seen this.  I guess today is the last straw for me.  I had to speak up.  I don’t want anyone to lose their job because of me so I rave here. 

Last weekend I learned to cast.  I don’t know how to thread the line or to hook the bait, but I did learn how to cast.  A lady who’s fishing with her husband even stopped to chat with me about fishing.  I told her tis my first time, and probably the last time fishing here in this river.  While none of us caught anything, I did help my little 3-yo niece pick blackberries from the bushes that grow next to the river.  She was so cute with her Barbie fishing gear. I did  not know that Barbie sell tackle box, fishing rods, etc in cute pink and purple colors. 

Upon our return from the fishing trip, hubby asked if it’s okay if he gets an annual fishing license. I said sure thing.  I guess we’re gonna do a lot more fishing this year.  Maybe I’ll catch my first fish before the summer ends.

 

Cruise Chronicles Part 8

June 3, 2007

 

     Eighth day and last day.  After showering, we found out that dirty clothes take more space than clean ones and our baggage could not accommodate the souvenirs we bought.  Hubby said we should stop by Metrotown to get a cheap hand carry, so we did.  It took no time to accomplish that.

 

     Of course it was raining; the whole time it was raining, both in Alaska and here in Vancouver.  We had two things to do today before catching our plane; one, go to Lyn Canyon Suspension Bridge and two, eat at Chinatown.

 

     Raining heavily at times during the entire visit to Lyn Canyon, we joined kids on school trip and random tourists like us walk the suspension bridge.  It was cold and wet, but it was fun.  I of course had pics to show.  I should say more about this experience but I simply have nothing sensible in my gray matter at this time.

 

     The Chinatown experience was very limited.  We parked on the street and went to eat, sampled a bit of Chinese cuisine, which is nothing new to us really.  Here too we bought some souvenir shirts.

 

     I was getting worried that we might miss our flight.  We had enough time, however, as there was enough time to even shop at the duty-free shops. 

 

     Finally, boarded.  The flight was a bit bumpy in the take-off and a little rough.  But by the grace of God, we landed safe, sound, and relieved in SFO.

 

 

Here ends the Cruise Chronicles.

 

Tag Lines

Panaderos did a cute little tag and guess what he tagged me. 😀  I of course graciously accept the tag and here goes:

HAVE YOU EVER GONE ON A BLIND DATE?    No.  But I did agree to meet a penpal once.

SKIPPED SCHOOL?   Once in elementary, not in high school, and I am pretty sure I did in college too.

BEEN ON A PLANE?  Yes.

BEEN LOST?   Many times, but the first time is the scariest.  I was fresh from the province attending college in University Belt and on Friday of the first week of school/college, my brother asked me to go and bring my laundry over to his apt in Bangkal Makati.  He instructed me on what jeepneys to take when to change jeepneys, etc.  However,  I ended up going to Baclaran.  Thank heavens for honest and helpful jeepney drivers who took me back to Malibay, Pasay so I can take the correct jeepney.

SWAM IN THE OCEAN?   Yes, did my doggie style flapping in Pangasinan, that’s Pacific Ocean, right?

CRIED YOURSELF TO SLEEP?   I am sure I had, nothing specific comes to mind right now.

PLAYED COPS AND ROBBERS?  NO, I don’t even know what that is.

PLAYED DOLLS?  Yes.  My dolls names were Maria Leonora Theresa, Rosa Vilma, Maureen or Pungay— holy cow I forgot the rest of my dolls name.

RECENTLY COLORED WITH CRAYONS?  No.

SANG KARAOKE?   Once.

PAID FOR A MEAL WITH COINS ONLY?  Yes, Taco Bell has a 79 cents nachos and 89 cents burritos. 

DONE SOMETHING YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T?  Yes, all in the name of love.

CHEATED ON A TEST?  Yes.

MADE PRANK PHONE CALLS?  No.

CAUGHT A SNOWFLAKE ON YOUR TONGUE?  Yes.

DANCED IN THE RAIN?  I played in the rain, but I am pretty sure that my playing involved a lot of hip swinging and feet shuffling that may have been misconstrued by some as dancing.

WRITTEN A LETTER TO SANTA CLAUS?  No.  I never believed he was real from the very beginning.  Thanks to my parents.

WATCHED THE SUN RISE WITH SOMEONE YOU CARED ABOUT?  We had started road trips around 4 am so I guess yes.

BEEN KISSED UNDER THE MISTLETOE?  No.

GONE ICE SKATING?   No.

BEEN SKINNY DIPPING OUTDOORS?  No.

FAVORITE DRINK I’M ALLOWED ON A REGULAR BASIS?  Coffee.

TATTOOS?   None.

BODY PIERCINGS?   Yes, earlobes.

VACATION SPOT?  I haven’t vacationed in one spot twice so I don’t know how to answer this.

EATEN COOKIES FOR DINNER?  No.  But I have enjoyed cereals for dinner and lunch.

EVER BEEN ON TV?  No.

EVER BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT?  Twice, fender benders.

FAVORITE NUMBER AND WHY?   Six.  Reasons: 1) It’s my birthday,  2)  It was Atoy Co’s number,  3) It was JT Snow’s number.

FAVORITE MOVIE?  Too many.  Off hand here’s a few:  Little Miss Sunshine, Pride and Prejudice, Don’t Give Up On Us.

FAVORITE HOLIDAY?  Memorial Day, that’s the time we always go on road trips.

FAVORITE SMELL?  Eucalyptus as you walk under them, cow dung especially if you haven’t smelled it in a long time, jasmine as it wafts through your bedroom window on a balmy summer night, the morning after a heavy downpour—it smells fresh, that’s the only word I can think of to describe it, the smell of freshly cut grass, etc, just too many to mention.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX?   Watch tv/dvd, “work on” my photos digitally, take photos.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?  Living with my loved ones and hopefully with one or two of our dreams fulfilled.