nice weather, this

for the first time in many months, i am not bellyaching about the weather — except maybe on rare occasions when it suddenly rains and i happen to have no umbrella with me or when i’m out for a late afternoon walk while wearing a thin shirt.

still, i can’t say that i have much to complain about. frankly, i would rather shiver in the corner than burn and steam under the sun. for one thing, the cool weather has reduced my electrical bill by roughly P400 — although this is probably largely due to the substantial drop in oil prices in the last month or so. naturally, this thrills me no end, and sometimes i wish the weather would stay this way for the rest of the year.

and then there’s the fact that i am now able to wear the thick sweatshirts that have been languishing (aka unused) in my closet for months. my ACU  has never had so much R&R. conversely, i seem to be heating up a huge amount of water in the past few weeks, too.

ambivalent thoughts on christmas

i don’t know what it is about christmas that can lift up and plunge my spirits at the same time. when i was a lot longer (and therefore a lot less complicated and far easier to please), it was just a simple matter of marking the date in the calendar and looking forward to the festivities, gifts, christmas shopping, and delightful surprises. in fact, the anticipation alone was enough to propel my youthful imagination to stratospheric heights.

this gradual tilt towards ambivalence (regarding christmas) started when i got into college, i think (yeah, i guess i was a regular stick-in-the-mud even then weheheh), and occasionally inched owards negative territory when i actually started working, particularly when i began living on my own. this is not to say that all my christmasses since then have all been gloomy ones. like most people, i had my ups and downs, and there were a couple of years at least that have been really happy ones.

lately though, i just seem to be wallowing down in the dumps whenever the yuletide season comes. for some reason, after attending various gatherings and all the gifts had been unwrapped, exclaimed over, and duly appreciated, i find myself vaguely ‘unsatisfied’ — like i’ve overlooked something, despite the material and intangible things i’ve gained. the maddening thing is that i can’t even put my finger on it.

perhaps it’s because christmas occurs at the end of the year — just around the time when some of us (un)consciously tally our ’score’ for the year, and more often than not, find the net figure well below our expectations. or it could be just my habitual gloomy musing whenever another year comes up (2009!).

oh well. here’s hoping i can shake off this dismal mood before christmas comes around.

call of the wild

for some reason, pictures of young cubs (particularly huge cats) hold a compelling fascination for me — the wilder and more untamed, the better. i like looking at dog pictures, too, but wild animals are another matter. i suppose that’s just my ornery, perverse nature cropping up, but i just can’t resist ‘em.

the fact that they’re rarely seen (except in zoos and documentary films) and are savagely beautiful make them an irresistible magnet for a clueless tenderfoot like me. you may call it what you like, but there’s something about these pictures that connects with me on a basic level

three white lion cubs

a couple of bengal tigers

peek-a-boo: a snow leopard

this one’s named cinderella by its clearly besotted owner. she’s too domesticated to make the grade, but i’m including her in this gallery for contrast. nyeheh.

(source: ABC news)

a cautious glance

with all the volatile changes that have been rocking the financial markets and other economic areas lately, one can’t help but wonder if things are ever going to settle down long enough so we can get our bearings straightened out. it’s not just the local market — although thankfully the jolts that we have experienced so far haven’t been as unnerving as those experienced by major economic players — it’s happening practically everywhere in varying degrees.

at times like these, i guess it’s only natural that we become even more careful with our financial resources, especially for those who are on lookout for a good small business opportunity. depending on the size and stability of your resources, it might be nice to look into franchising, especially if you get involved with well-known brand names and niches such as hotel business or fast food business. regardless of how the economy turns out, we all know that there will always be people who will continue to travel for business or for pleasure, and of course fastfood chains will always be a familar landmark within an urban landscape.

of course, it’s still important to hold on to your nest egg. it’s always nice to have a fallback plan in case things don’t work out. still, there’s a risk to everything we do — and what’s rather ironic is that doing nothing can wind up to be the biggest risk of all. well. let’s hope 2009 will be a better year for us all.

jack is back and searching for Redemption

finally. some good news for 24 fans.

jack bauer (kiefer sutherland) is back, this time in a standalone 2-hour TV movie (Fox TV) that bridges the events of season 6 and the upcoming season 7. 24: Redemption, which is set in a fictional african country of Sangala, basically serves as a prequel for the expected structural “changes” in 24. 24: Redemption will be shown on november 23, 2008, and will feature a female president, Allison Taylor (played by cherry jones).

if you don’t mind reading spoilers, just click on this link. just be warned though, an old character (who jack thought was dead) will resurface and give good ol’ jack something else to worry about.

incidentally, 24: season 7 is scheduled to start airing in January 2009.

welcome back, jack. we sure missed you.