sillyserious soliloquies |

I’ve been pondering these words of late:

“Nothing drives progress like the imagination. The idea precedes the deed.” - Theodore Levitt

If you’re like me when you go see a movie, you make sure you don’t miss the trailers before (or after) the main feature. Trailers are works of art all their own—so much fun to watch, dangling before us the promise of adventure, drama, or what not. Of course, in function they’re nothing more than ads, the perfect marketing ploy to keep us movie buffs coming back to the dark room: We see a coming-soon film that catches our fancy, and we declare, while licking popcorn cheese stains off our fingers, “I am so gonna watch that!” That’s exactly how it was for me when I saw the trailer for Vantage Point last month.

This weekend, I finally saw Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Fox, and Forrest Whitaker. And I’m still trying to catch my breath. The last time I had to remind myself to breathe in front of the wide screen was while watching Matrix 2’s breathtaking freeway chase scene. (I still get dizzy thinking about it!)

The drama and action of Vantage Point are so palpable I had goosebumps and a lump in my throat almost all throughout the film! I’m no film critic, but I think I know good storytelling when I see one. And this one’s fantastic! Although I think the ending wasn’t able to measure up to the bombastic start and middle, it did tie all the loose ends in a beautiful knot that could leave your mouth gaping, while your pulse is still elevated from the previous scenes’ adrenaline rush. I guess there has to be a point when the wild ride ends and your blood pressure normalizes. Otherwise there’ll be reports of heart attacks in cinemas worldwide!

Don’t wait for the DVD. Go spend your hard-earned moolah on this one. It’s so worth the ride—if only for when the tiny hairs on your nape stand on end every time the bomb explodes! While you’re at it, don’t miss the trailers.

A sleepless friend on the other side of the planet shares a Psalm.

Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

And half-a-world away I say, “Amen!”

I can’t remember the last time I had coffee at this hour, almost 11PM. Grabbed a cup at Jollibee on my way home. Need the caffeine boost to finish a presentation for tomorrow’s sales conference. But I’m not complaining. I’m all-smiles, in fact It was a fun evening interacting with the folks at Beng’s group. Spoke to them about “new media” and blogging. I sure hope some of them will give blogging a shot The blog evangelism continues!

I missed two days of my 30-day blog marathon. Hay. My internet connection was down yesterday, and so I couldn’t post. I know, I could have written something offline and then copy-pasted as soon as I could. But I didn’t, and I feel such a loser… The challenge continues though; the setbacks notwithstanding. This dude ain’t givin’ up just yet.

Monday is a holiday. Woohoo! Looking forward to sleeping in and catching up on some reading and DVD viewing. Monday will be hermit mode, the calm before the storm that is Tuesday with all its meetings.

Coffee’s half-done. I think I feel its perk-up effects. Awryt, it’s psychological, I know; caffeine takes effect three hours after intake. Or so they say. But I’ll settle for psychological caffeine boost for now. Off to the presentation… ‘Night, y’all!

I have to do something about that Mac-ishly blue header. (Not that I have anything against Macs; I’d loooove to get my hands on a MacBook Air!) The creative in me is itching to spruce things up up there. But somehow the simplicity of this template is already strikingly attractive. And yet, I just know that I must, I must customize header! It’s almost like a compulsion. That space is definitely gonna change before my 30th birthday.

I think I can use a new head—above my shoulders, this time. Ever been frustrated about how sometimes your gray matter can’t seem to catch up with you? You need it to run full throttle, but it refuses to cooperate. You mind-map, squeeze a stress ball, pace back and forth, look at the ceiling, do push-ups (you, not scrawny me), make lists of all sorts–but the wheels just won’t turn! The end result is a headache and double vision. Maybe mine just needs some exercise.

Or maybe this is how thirty-year-old brains operate, and I should get used to it… *gasp*

And there I was, thinking to write something editorial and political. About the Jun Lozada expose… and the ZTE scam… and the systemic corruption in Philippine government.. and government officials’ pathetic attempts at covering up… and moderating greed and… my head, aaaagh!, my heeeead!

Before I go pop a paracetamol, you think we should get a new head? A new head of state, that is?

Came across this quote in David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

“I am like a mosquito in a nudist camp; I know what I want to do, but I don’t know where to begin.”

-Stephen Bayne

Ouch. That stings. Hehe

I missed a day. Grrr. My Friday was so full I forgot about my blog challenge.

I took a leave from work Friday to help out at Samaritana, a Christian ministry that reaches out to “vulnerable and exploited women.” My friend Jean works as program coordinator there, and she asked me two weeks ago if I could lend a hand in the Valentines Party that she was organizing for their women. I said, “Sure ba!”

My task was to “serenade” the women with a few love songs. I’m not a great singer at all, but I do love singing. Earlier this year, I made a commitment to use the gifts that I have, no matter how meager, to serve others. And last Friday, that commitment meant singing to a group of women who have had a rough life on the streets, and who, by God’s grace, are now beginning to experience the beauty and the purity of True Love. It was my honor to serve them.

The first song was Parokya ni Edgar’s Harana. I had sung this before at my officemates’ wedding so it didn’t take much to prepare for the number. But nothing prepared me for the women’s warm (as in “blush-inducing”) reception. Good-natured cheering and screaming, flowers and handkerchiefs handed to me ala TV variety show, and smacks on the cheek had me missing my accompaniment cues! But it was all in the spirit of fun. I could only manage a joke with them afterwards, after my face had turned all shades of red: “Feeling Sam Milby naman ako nito! See you in Araneta!” Yeah, right.

The guest speaker spoke on the Five Love Languages, a concept popularized by Dr. Gary Chapman. Essentially, the idea is that there are five different ways by which people express and receive love: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Gifts. One’s love language is that which, when expressed by him or shown to him, meets his deepest emotional needs. It varies from person to person. So it’s possible that a wife who is showered with gifts by her husband may still feel “unloved” if her love language is, say, quality time. You can see that there’s bound to be misunderstanding, conflict, and frustration between two people who speak different love languages–unless they work at understanding and “speaking” the other’s love language.

The speaker expounded on the five, helping the women think through each one and then identify which love language is their own. As for me, I’m not quite sure what my love language is yet. I think I’ll settle for Gifts meantime. Haha. Seriously, I should read the book (which, incidentally, is being distributed by our publishing house.)

And that’s the highlight of my post-less Friday. I may have missed my post for the day, but I’m thankful I didn’t miss the chance to minister to, and be blessed by, the staff and women of Samaritana.

For someone who fell in love quite late in life, C.S. Lewis had lots to say. And here are two, so far, of my favorite Lewis thoughts on the four-letter word:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

“Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone.“

Happy Heart’s Day!

The first thing I said this morning was, “Awwtch!” The cold nights had finally taken their toll on my arthritic joints and achy lower back. Instead of rushing through my morning rituals, I had to take a deep breath and slowly, very slowly, cajole my lethargic joints to move, one small motion at a time. I decided to take the morning off after popping a few pain relievers.

All these body issues are premature, I know–I’m turning thirty, not sixty! But ever since twelve years old, I’ve had to live with arthritic pain. There are many ways to deal with the pain and inconvenience of arthritis. For me today, relief (and consolation) came in the form of chocolate ice cream that I got on my way to work around noon.

And, just so we’re clear, I didn’t use it as cold compress on my joints.