some feel-good news

wow.

i just read this amazing story about a 50-year-old blue-collar NYC guy who saved a 20-year-old film student in the subway tracks just recently. seems like Cameron Hollopeter was having a seizure when he fell into the subway track just a few moments before a train was due to arrive. Fortunately for him, Wesley Autrey, a quick-thinking construction worker (guy in yelow jacket), jumped off from the platform and held the student down with him in one of the cracks as the train rumbled over them "with inches to spare".

the rest (outpouring of praises, rewards and media attention), as they say, is history… 

again, wow. it must be the greatest feeling in the world to know that you saved another human being. no i’m not talking about the rewards (they’re just the icing really, and they have their downside too). i’m referring to that unmatched feeling of having done something worthwhile in your life — an unthinking act unvarnished by any motive — an unutterably pure moment that cannot be touched nor altered by anything that happens before and after the event. if all of us can be defined by such moments i’m sure the world would be a far better place.

furry friends

isn't it funny how commonplace creatures such as cats and dogs can bring such joy (or wreak such havoc — whichever applies in your case) in our lives?

sometimes it's just a simple matter of seeing a cat luxuriously stretching itself on your desk or watching a dog goofily chasing its tail to bring a spontaneous smile on your face. it may not sound much, but these are little things that make one's day inexplicably brighter…

sadly, i don't have pets in my place (my erratic schedule precludes me from having one). but some of my officemates do keep them — like Max (Maki's irrepressible golden retriever) and Beavis and Butthead, a couple of indolent felines whose sleeping arrangement is a source of never-ending amusement to their owner. incidentally, we have a stray cat with blue- and amber-colored eyes (i call him Boris) at our office canteen which we take turns to feed during mealtimes.

catching up

whew!! boy, am i glad the MFF is over. i hope this means that Apocalypto will soon be shown in local theaters. or maybe Pan's Labyrinth (pretty please!?). i expect Blood Diamond to rear its head in a week or two, along with the fantasy flick Eragon, which i'll probably watch because i never got around to reading the book(s). if i really get lucky, maybe they'll even show — dare i hope? — Children of Men soon (like next week) before the Oscars gets aired…  heck i'll even settle for Night at the Museum.

if i have enough time this weekend, maybe i'll hop over at SM MoA to watch the dazzling fireworks put on by various participants to the 2nd WorldPyro Olympics. i sure could use some colorful distraction these days. maybe i'll even remember to bring along my camera just in case.

back to the grindstone

it's the 3rd day of 2007. i've just re-read what i wrote 4 days ago and frankly i'm amazed at all the mistakes i managed to squeeze into a 4-paragraph entry. Cosmetic tinkering took several rewrites and edits. i know, i know … i could've written a different piece which i'm sure would have been less troublesome, but still i feel a little better after having finally tied up this particular dangling thread.

and so, i'm back in my table staring at my computer screen and waiting for that lightbulb moment — you know, the kind of scene where you snap your fingers, shout 'eureka!" and start scribbling furiously… err except that i still have this huge blank space staring right back at me…

. . .

35 minutes later… (uhhh, is it only me or did iPh just blink off the past 15 mins?)

hooh-kayy!! just got back from a quick refreshing trip outside my cubicle. i guess i needed the change of scene to distract me from mourning the fact that my ZVM is gasping its last breath (hwaahhh!). i stupidly dropped it during the holidays (a regrettable floor/ZVM interface) and it's badly cracked on the side. it also got badly bruised 3 weeks ago when it slipped off my palms while i was on the treadmill, along with a few other scratches (which i like to think of as battle scars) it managed to collect after 12 months of heavy use.

i love(d) my ZVM. despite its short life [mostly my own fault] and the deplorable lack of accessories and Creative technical support in the local market, i'd still prefer it to iPod. in fact, i've just ordered the 60gb variant — after owning a ZVM, you just wouldn't want to settle for iPod's dull, uninspiring screen (sorry iPod fans…). why? because ZVM has a longer battery life, excellent screen, (heaps) better video capability (5 hrs!) and great audio quality among other things [excuse me while i blow my nose]

stray notes…

as 2007 fast approaches, i have this inexplicable need to pin down a few things that made 2006 memorable for me. nothing fancy nor earth-shattering really, just a few things that made this past year a bit more different than the last

• for me 2006 was a year of electronic purchases — things that i didn't think i'd buy (or need for that matter), but they sure made me feel 'perky' at the time i bought them. the funny thing was, everytime i bought one i'd swear [quite earnestly, too!] to myself it'll be the last purchase i'd make for the year (or in the next 6 months). well guess what. i must have broken that promise 4 or 5 times quite easily. it could have been more though (my memory being erratic as it is) since i stopped counting about 4 months ago…

• this year i also increased my range of travel (both in and out of the country). i never intended it to go that way. i guess it just happened. some pics coming up…

• 2006 was a another banner 'anime' year for me. to my growing (quite a head-scratcher for my baffled sister) pile of anime titles, i've added quite a few TV series, OVAs/OAVs, movies. what can i say? i'm just nuts over 'em! 

– uh-oh, there's the alarm… well i just i'll just leave this list hanging for now. happy new year to us all!!

p.s. one thing more [edited jan. 2], if scorcese doesn't bag his well-deserved oscar this year… i'm giving up on watching the oscars aarghh!

[there's been a lot of good films this year that could aspire to that golden statuette — pan's labyrinth (loved it), little miss sunshine (not exactly a laugh-out-loud flick, but i had this silly grin on my face), letters from iwo jima (i haven't seen it though) or maybe dreamgirls (nor this either). i'm still holding out for The Departed though. not just because scorcese is long overdue for it, but because no other movie has kept me quivering on the edge of my seat as much as this one did.]