Slacking..

To people who might have noticed, I have not been writing in a while as I was busy with some books for the past two weeks.. Because of this, I had a lot of recorded tv shows and movies (not to mention other books i haven't gotten around to reading yet) that i have to start watching because my tv's memory is running out of space, lol! It's times like these that I wish I have a laptop so I can write/type my thoughts while watching.. It'll definitely save me time from writing notes and then transferring them to my computer.. *sigh*

Anyway, I don't intend to write a lot of things (I have 20 notes from both tv shows and books that I have to transcribe), basically just transferring stuff from my notebook to my blog..

I guess have to start on it then..

A Christmas Story

Christmas 2010

When my brother and Sis Anne went to do their Christmas shopping at SM Southmall, I tagged along.

Since I knew what I was going to buy for the kids, I finished early. I didn't tell my brother I was done because it was obvious that they weren't and I didn't want them to feel rushed or something. So I decided to just wander around the mall a bit. Of course, knowing me, my feet brought me to the first shop I always go to when I'm at Southmall - National Bookstore. Seriously, there were tears in my eyes as I gazed at the familiar layout of the bookstore and all the books that they had on sale (nerd lang talaga, LOL!)..

I realized then that I can get something for the "older kids" (Mojo, ManMane & Aizing) from the store. Mojo and Aizing loved the Percy Jackson series so I decided to get them the first book on the Jason Grace series by the same author. For my brother, because of our mutual love of Pugad Baboy (and because he reminds me of Igno, hahaha!) I got him & Sis Anne a copy of Pugad Baboy XX.

After making my purchases, I texted my brother that I'm finished with my shopping and that I was "going" to National Bookstore to look around. My brother texted me back saying they were almost finished and that they'd meet me in front of the stage instead. I said that I'd meet them there but that I'll drop by National first, just to say 'hi'. When he said "Don't buy anything, 'te Malen, ha", I started to get a funny feeling..

The bus ride home was comical because my brother kept trying to look at the bags I was carrying for any proof of purchase from National. I think my brother suspected that I bought some books in National for myself and that I might have ended up buying something that he was giving me. So it got obvious that my brother bought me a book, which one out of the hundreds he could have bought me, I don't know, but by then I had a funny suspicion.

Well, to throw them off, I only placed the presents for the kiddos under our tree. For their part, to throw me off, Sis Anne placed a different gift for me (one that definitely didn't look and feel like a book) under our tree..

Then it was time.. Noche Buena - opening of gifts:

Hahaha.. :)

back with a vengeance.. LOL!

After taking a bit of a hiatus, I intend to get started on writing again, not for anybody else, but for me.. this is my therapy.. this is my cure..

alright, dramatics aside, I will be setting up a new blog featuring my reviews for tv shows, books and movies.

here's to posting something everyday, starting today! :)

btw, im sad to say that the link for my friendster blogs is no longer working.. :( i don't know where they are now - probably floating aimlessly somewhere in cyber space.. several blog posts and reviews, gone, all gone.. :( while they weren't posts or reviews worthy of literary commendations, they were my posts and my reviews and dammit, i should have copied them all here.. *sigh* another reason why i refuse to be lazy any longer..

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY POCO!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY POCOYO!! MAY YOU HAVE MANY MORE BIRTHDAYS TO COME! LOVE YOU MUCH! :)

TV - american idol 10 - top 13

AI S10 top 24

From this group of 24 comes the final 13 for this season of American Idol.. I have to admit, they were all good..

Before I delve any further, I would just like to say that while I saw the wisdom in letting Chris & Jaycee go, Jaycee's departure broke my heart.. His voice is really special and I hope that we'd see a new and improved (better) Jaycee in the next season or a couple of seasons after this. I would definitely love hear him sing his heart out again!

Okay, the top 13.. I think they were all good choices - i got the top 5 guys right and missed on hailey for the girls (my money was on either Naima or Julie or even Rachel who reminded me of last season's Siobhan).  At least Naima got saved with the wild card competition.  Speaking of which, I'm not sure I like Ashthon and while I do like Stefano, I think that Robbie should have been given the spot.

All in all, as what has always been pointed out, the talent on this batch was great.. if only some of them have auditioned last year, they'd be a shoo-in.. but at least they got to show America and the world that they have the chops.. i recently read an article from Yahoo (i think!) where they showed that the vocalist for Lady Antebellum and Mercedes from Glee had previously auditioned for Idol fame, but sadly (or luckily? depends on perspective) got rejected.. i guess it only goes to show that if you persevere and if you believe in yourself and your dreams, different paths get you to the same destination..

my faves? paul and casey for the guys and pia and karen for the girls.. hope these picks would make it far..

TV - american idol s11 milwaukee auditions

apparently, i still care about american idol, LOL!

i thought i was over it after last year's dismal display.  when i read that simon is out and so is ellen (i didnt care that kara was leaving), i thought this show has reached an end.  but the producers had other plans and brought back nigel (i didnt even know he was connected to american idol, i just knew him from watching 'so you think you can dance') and brought in new judges as well (hello steven and jlo).  but still, knowing all these didnt convince me enough to try to even care that they were about to air the auditions.  truth be told, this wasnt the first season of american idol that i didnt watch from start to finish..

and yet..

the months inbetween..

I can't believe that my last post was dated the 31st of October.. Wow! Talk about taking a looooong time writing about something, LOL!

..so, what has occurred during that time?

october 2010

I cant believe that another month has gone by.. Wow, a lot sure has happened this month and I almost (almost!) didn't write anything for the whole month..

But where to start?..

..and what to write?

Okay, two words come to mind - CLOSED CAPTIONING. To be able to be of assistance and service to the community while working from home transcribing TV shows and movies.  I hope it could be something that I can do.

That's it though, I'm drawing up a blank..

HAPPY MOJOS DAY TO ALL.. Boo!

certified GLEEK! :)

As previously announced on my FB wall, I can now say that i am now part of the GLEEK community, hahaha.. 

The 1st episode for season 2 was aired here in Sydney last Wednesday, and it was fun seeing the gang again (especially Kurt). But while I was proud to see Charice holding her own against Lea Michele, it was a so-so episode for me. I wasn't blown away by the premise of things to come and I didn't enjoy the performances that much. Anyway, next week is about Brittany which is a character I like and Heather (the actress who plays the part) is such a great dancer! I haven't really heard her sing yet kse i don't think she has been given a solo part to sing as of yet, but I believe it'll be her time to shine next week.. Can't wait!

Anyway, going back to my GLEEK status, I just want to share a couple of things about the 1st season:

30 rock: end of season 4..

*found this on my list of drafts, haha.. decided to post it na lang just to refresh my memory na din since im still waiting for season 5 to start airing here in sydney*
 ______________________________________________________________________________

finales.. they make me feel sad because it would mean several months of waiting for them to come back, that is, if they're even coming back. We all know that sometimes they dont (still missing LOST).

..and so with a heavy heart i saw the last episode of 30 rock's season 4.. it wasn't disappointing, it was actually good, but still..

august 2010

I've just realized that I haven't posted anything since august, my bad.. and to think that a lot of things happened in August.. well, it's better late than never, so let's go.. here they are, in no particular order (may major major ms universe hangover pa ata ako, hahaha..)

HP7 re-read..

..because i was so busy trying to finish my online course these past weeks, i didnt get to visit the library and borrow some books. then i saw my HP7 and thought, why not? i was planning to re-read it anyway, so why not start now?

and so i did.. 

SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't read it yet.. (what?! really?! seriously?? you haven't read HP7??) hehehe..

feelin' the winter chill..

yesterday, i woke up and saw that the sun was shining. i looked out of the window and saw that the beach looked inviting.. i then thought to myself, hmm, seems like a good day to go out and take a walk along the beach..

so i then got ready for the walk, brought out the trash with me so i can throw it on the way out.. 

as soon as i opened the door out, i knew that the farthest distance i would walk today was from the door up to where the trash bins are.. ganon kalamig!

a new leader in julia..

i've been meaning to post, but have just been either too busy or too lazy.. but since this is a historic chapter in australian politics, i thought i'd have my say..

first off, i do feel bad for kevin.. i think that he's done a good job in keeping the depression that swept globally at bay here in australia.. it wasn't as terrible here as it was in the states.. but, like what we all know is the truth: you simply can't please everybody. while he may have had supporters, the people in his party felt that he's not living up to expectation and that he may then become the cause for labor's defeat in the next elections.. in fairness to kevin rudd, he's had his hands full in the short span of his term.. anyway, my sentiments are not political, im no political analyst, it's more of a sense of empathy.. he's a good leader in his own right, but sadly, maybe it's just time to move forward for the betterment of the country. i think he will be remembered well, but i do feel for him because it's not easy to have something you've worked and fought hard for to be taken away from you just like that, but that's politics for you, eh?.. one minute you're in, the next, you're out.

as for ms gillard, i liked this quote of hers:

“I say to the Australian people, there will be some days I delight you; there will be some days I disappoint you. But on every day I will be working my absolute hardest for you.” 

before the upcoming elections where jep and i will now have our own say with a vote each (i'm excited), i do hope that julia would bring positive changes in this country.. 

aussie, aussie, aussie.. oi oi oi!

australia vs germany..

i am of the opinion that the majority of people root for the underdogs, and i think this match between australia and germany is no exception.. australia was obviously the underdog.. how can the socceroos beat this powerhouse who boasts of 3 world cup wins? how?.. but still, aussies dared to dream, dared to hope, dared to see a fairy tale finish.. 

but sadly, it wasnt meant to be..

the final score: australia - 0, germany - 4.

and to add insult to injury, a bad call resulted in a red card for cahill, who is australia's number 1 player.. so that means that he wont play on the second, must-win game against ghana.. 

i feel bad for the 'roos, i do.. on the last world cup they lost to italy (who went on to win the 2006 world cup, btw) because of a wrong call.. and now their top player cant play on a, like i said, must-win game.. i know that they wont give up without a fight, but it would be such a hard fight.. maybe a fairy tale win could still be in the books, who knows, but they have to do much, much better than how they played against germany..

forgive me, im not a fanatic, jep is.. but the reason i have blogged about this is because i have been to a soccer match and the experience was unforgettable! it was exhilirating! it was unbelievable! and that match was only between sydney fc and la galaxy (and david beckham, LOL!), what more in the world cup where all the great players of soccer are playing? the atmosphere on every game would have been electrifying! 

some would say that it's a game, a 90-minute game at that, where a ball is just kicked around.. nothing exciting happens unless one tries to kick the ball to the net.. yeah, i said that myself.. i used to find the game boring, but whenever i see a game on tv, i am brought back to that collective anticipation and excitement that i felt during the live game that we saw and i know that what may seem to be boring when watched on tv is actually action-packed in real life.. 

it would be great if the world cup comes to australia..

in the meantime, i still believe that the aussies can do it!

and here's a world cup trailer to see and enjoy.. i love watching it over and over because it was so well done and exciting.. and of course the special participation of a non-player favorite of mine with the last name simpson and first name homer made it all the more better.. :)

jlo and tom cruise mtv routine..

this clip is such a classic! funny! 

loved, loved the movie (tropic thunder) and tom cruise was a good addition as les grossman.. i heard that there's going to be a movie starring this character, i hope it'll be good..

NOY-BI

ah, the philippines..  please don't get me wrong, i love the philippines, i do, i really do.. i may rant about it, have some not-so-nice things to say about it, get irritated with it, and be frustrated with it, but bottom line is this: i was born there, i have lived there for 27 years of my life, and i miss it like crazy!

while it's true that i have fallen irrevocably in love with sydney (and australia as a whole), you can't take away the fact that i am a filipina at heart.. and because of that, i am still very affected about the news (via 'bandila') that i hear about the philippines and i am not embarrassed to say na updated din ako with showbiz happenings (via www.pep.ph) LOL!.. i also frequent a filipino store where i can buy philippine items like chichiria (piattos, clover, oishi, vcut, etc) and de-lata from the philippines (century tuna, ligo, purefoods corned beef, etc) or other filipino products like mama sita mix for karekare, knorr pangsigang, mang tomas, ufc ketchup, lucky me, barrio fiesta bagoong, nestea calamansi, etc.. there's even balot and itlog na maalat.. 

but while our tastebuds and the need to know what's happening in the philippines are more or less satisfied, i still miss the philippines.. i guess that's how attached i am to it..

so what exactly do i miss most about the philippines? not counting family because that's a given, first and foremost, i miss our house, then jollibee (super! when, oh when are you coming in australia?), makati (particularly glorietta), alabang, UST (i can't describe how i love uste..), road trips to pangasinan or la union or baguio or tagaytay, baclaran church and baclaran itself (especially every wednesday), Apo Manaoag, jeepneys, SM, street food (sago-gulaman, tuknene, isaw.. oh don't get me started on food, LOL!), oh and a lot, lot more.. 

yes, home is where the heart is, and yes, both manila and sydney are in mine..

i know that the philippines may not rank among the top 10 (not even sure if it makes the top 100) list of countries that are good places to live in, but it doesnt mean that it has nothing to offer.. yes, there's poverty and it's very true that life is tough in that country, but there's a certain beauty about the philippines that's, i don't know, i guess only a filipino could see and appreciate, because we see beyond what's there to see.. we see and feel its spirit.. and what about the filipino people themselves? i know of the filipinos' plight and what might seem to be their never-ending struggles, but i also know of their practicality, their ability to see humor amidst hardships, their courage, and mostly, i know of their heart. yes, filipinos have great big hearts and one thing that those great big hearts will never run out of is hope. 

the 2 guys in the middle are the new faces of hope for the philippines. they are the new leaders of the country: president elect noynoy aquino (son of ninoy and cory aquino) and vice president elect jejomar binay. in their hands, the filipino people have placed their trust, their faith, their dreams, their hopes, and yes, their lives. they have 6 years at the helm, 6 years to drive the philippines towards something better, and while a complete turn-around would be difficult to accomplish in just 6 years, today is a good day as any to hope that the philippines is in the hands of capable leaders who will guide the country in a better direction.

i am excited for the philippines.. even though i have to admit that they are not the leaders i have pegged to see as the new president and vice president, i am excited because the filipino people have spoken and they saw these two men as beacons of hope. are they right? are they wrong? only time will tell.. NOY-BI have won the hearts and minds of the majority of the filipino people.. i hope that they'd do all of us proud.. i have high hopes and expectations that these 2 gentlemen would be the kind of leaders that the philippines need in order for good change to happen, the kind of leaders that this country exactly needs.. 

my congratulations go out to the both of them.. they have a lot of work to do and a tough time ahead, but i know that as long as there are steps going in the right direction (even tiny, little baby steps), they'd have the nation's support, and the philippines will be just fine.. 

i do pray that they'd do good for the sake of a wonderful nation that needs good leaders to put it back on track..  

MABUHAY ANG SAMBAYANANG PILIPINO!

argus (the peacock with a soul), macgruber as jenna & a mother's day special..

Since this is my first 30 Rock-related post, let me just get this out of my system: 

HI! MY NAME IS HERMALYN GODOY AND I AM ADDICTED TO 30 ROCK.

..there, whew! now that wasn't so hard, LOL!

anyway, i watched the entire 1st & 2nd seasons and i'm still waiting for TV1 to start airing the 3rd season.. i know, i know.. i came in late in the game, but you know what they say, better late than never.. so i'm still behind by a season and the first 6 episodes of season 4. I didn't know that they were airing new episodes of 30 Rock in channel 7, and when i found out, they were already on the 7th episode (Dealbreakers).

so, here goes: 

btw: this recap of sorts is for episodes: argus & the moms

highlights:

- liz and pete's cia-style shadowing of jenna's new boyfriend paul and finding out that he's a jenna impersonator. i havent seen macgruber (the movie) but have seen some sketches while watching snl online. what cracked me up was seeing forte as macgruber (a man's man, albeit always failing to disarm bombs) and then seeing him as a jenna impersonator, teehee..

- jenna's admission that she placed 4th(?) on a jenna look-alike contest. didn't charlie chaplin joined a chaplin look-alike contest and finished 3rd? LOL..

- jack finally finding closure after his mentor's death, but was weird that it was brought about by argus (not the NBC peacock). oh well, it was a good move by liz to ask kenneth to put it in jack's mind that don might be residing in argus' body so jack can finally accept his passing.  


- i love colleen donaghy! LOL! 

- will ferrell was back as the bitch hunter.. offshoot, anyone?

- tracy's speech about kids not being able to choose their moms, and that moms don't get to choose their kids either. true, true.. hooray for moms! :)

 
- buzz aldrin. he's a character! and i especially loved that part when he and liz both shouted at the moon. "you dumb moon!" teehee.. i have nothing against the moon, in fact i love it, but i just found the rants against it by buzz and liz funny.. :)

- jenna's mom verna is just funny! "i got the meat, jack!" LOL!

- i love, love elizabeth banks! :) but i just wish that jack would make his mind up already.

..so there you go. love, love, love the show.. just a bit sad that only 2 episodes to go and it's the finale and then there would be more waiting..

Mini tornado rips through Sydney's east - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Mini tornado rips through Sydney's east - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

news update!

i was taking a brief union break (haha!) from transcribing when i came across this article.. it shocked me to know that a mini tornado happened so near where we live..

i was so tired coming home from work that i fell asleep practically as soon as i've sat on the bus, and i didn't wake up til i was in the junction.. my internal clock did feel a bit off because it seemed that it took me longer than what's normal to get home from work, which in my semi-conscious state i wrote off to traffic caused by the nonstop rain.. i just found out, there was traffic, yes, but it wasn't just because of the rain, from what i've read on the articles, there were uprooted trees and some flooding as well..

but a mini tornado (or water spout) so near the city? scary! it's in our suburb, but many, many streets down the road (so mommy or mojos, if you end up reading this post, dont worry.. :p)

lee vs cyrstal

i havent always been a fan of the show, but i've watched 6 of out 9 seasons (i missed seasons 1, 2 and 6).. and while my choices didnt always end up as winners, i have enjoyed watching it.

changes:

a) new judge. as a result of paula's leaving, american idol season 9 brought with it a new judge in the person of ellen degeneres. while it's true that there were people who didnt believe that she'd be able to contribute any sound critique as part of the panel, i think that one-liner quips aside, she gave out a lot of good advice and sound judgement.

b) farewell simon. while a new judge came, an old judge is going, who is, in my opinion, the one judge that really drew people to watch the show. yep, this was simon's last stint as american idol judge.. the tribute to him was quite touching.. but i didnt understand why they felt they had to give paula a few minutes up on stage doing a one-woman comedy-of-sorts act.. i think it would have been better if she just expressed herself in a song or songs rather than doing a semi-roast on simon that, in my opinion, fell flat.

c) from memory, i havent seen a finale where no new song was sung as the 'song of the season' to which the winner claims as his or her first single, or something like that. i actually felt bad that lee and crystal didnt get the chance to sing a same song to better show whose version is better.. oh well.. 

anyway, it was, after all, the american idol finale and so focus should be given to the finalists..

 cyrstal was, indeed, an early favorite, but sometimes, it's not always good to be thought of as a front-runner from the onset. look at adam lambert or even danny gokey from last year. i dunno, sometimes it just backfires.. 


lee, well, he flew not quite off the radar, but he wasnt considered a really serious contender til around the last few weeks where he seemed to just blossom and gain confidence and really show that he can he's a worthy challenger to what simon told crystal was hers to lose..


between the two, it wouldnt have been that hard to predict who the winner will be.. if we forget the past weeks and just base who the winner could be on the performances on the finale itself, i felt that crystal nailed it (although i did have a nagging suspicion that lee would take it from her)..

results night: lee does win.

i do feel bad for crystal because she's always been tagged as the front-runner, but she still didnt win (kinda like how i felt when adam lost to kris - i was rooting for an adam-allison or adam-danny showdown last year). i even noticed that on her family's side in the audience that her boyfriend wasnt around and thought that the pressure of the finale probably was too much for him so he opted to watch the finale from anywhere but the nokia theatre, only to find out that they've broken up before the finale.. it might have been a mutual decision, but that doesnt mean it didnt affect her in some way.. but dont worry crystal, every cloud has a silver lining, im sure you'd do just fine..


admittedly, i found this season to be, well, a bit boring.. i always told jep, week after week, that it seemed unfair that crystal didnt seem to have any competition at all.. i once rooted for siobhan when she sang paint it black, but knew that she wouldnt make the cut when she just started to yell (to prove that she can hit high notes?? she didnt have to because we already knew she could, but that didnt stop her from doing it. play to your strengths, yeah, but well, a different tactic would have also worked.. like, say, show other variations to what your voice can do, something like that..). all the other contestants were, i dunno, there was talent, yes, but compared to the previous seasons that i saw, this season ranks the lowest (sorry!).


if there ever would still be a 10th season, i wish that simon's replacement is a good judge and that it wouldnt be as, boring(?), uneventful (?), as season 9.

but to end this post on a good note, i wish both crystal and lee the best and hopefully they'd end up like kelly clarkson and carrie underwood (my fave winners) and chris daughtry (my fave non-winner).

pet peeves

i'm not a complainer, in fact, i dont complain much.. give me more work and i'd just smile and say 'thanks' and treat it as a learning experience.. i guess the only person who hears me complain is jep, and from his perspective the word 'complain' might be putting it nicely, LOL! nagging aside (haha!) i'd like to just get these two pet peeves of mine out of my system:

a) people who have earphones/headphones on and yet have their music turned on so loud that you can hear what they're listening to.. i mean.. hello?! you're entitled to listen to whatever you want to listen to, but that doesnt mean i have to listen to it too! that's the reason why you're wearing an earphone, dummy! 

ugh.. sorry.. it just irritates me.. 

and im a bit concerned about them as well.. i mean, i'm not the one wearing the earphones and i know that the music is turned on so loud, what more with them? don't they realize how loud their music is? what about damaging their hearing? or is their hearing already damaged that they dont realize they have their music on so loud? 

bottomline: the reason you're wearing earphones is so you could listen to whatever you want to listen to and not bother other people.. sadly, the message is lost on other people more often than not (because they can't hear?! hehe).

b) cigarette smell. cigarettes, nasty lung-causing stick. ugh! im not a smoker, but jep is, and it irritates the hell out me. i wish he'd quit, i wish all smokers would quit the habit, but it's really all up to them. but my pet peeve is not just the cigarette itself, it's how the smell just clings to you.. irritating! like if you had the misfortune of having someone sit beside you on the bus that just reeks of cigarettes.. R-E-E-K-S!

*i guess the solution would be for me to get my own car and so not be bothered about it again, but unfortunately, that's still a long way to go and so i have to put up with this..*

hate might be a strong word, but i just hate the smell of cigarette smoke and how it just clings to you and your clothes! mega pet peeve! good thing that jep knows to stay away from me (as far away from me as possible), after he'd just smoked, otherwise he'd hear me "complain". hehe..

watch this clip i found.. i guess im a monica (gasp!) after all, because if i was right there when they were having their conversation, i would have been all 'go monica, go! tell it like it is!'.. 

well, i guess that concludes my rants for the day..

blogging..

i'm a big fan of blogging. putting my thoughts into words is just a wonderful experience. this is my first post here, and i'm looking forward to more posts to come.. :)