Behind The Scenes - First Silent Film Project

Sa wakas, naupload din. Just some crazy clips from the production of Kandila. :D

Kandila - First Silent Film Project

I'm not sure if it's smart to post my film projects here. But since I'm really eager to learn everything about filmmaking, I'm open to any type of constructive criticism. You can be destructive all you want but I'm afraid that won't discourage me, though.

books i've grown up with - the sci-fi/horror stories

I grew up in the murderous minds of suspense thriller, sci-fi, and horror writers such as Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine and Marilyn Kaye. I became so indulged in reading them everyday 'til night that they produced many nightmares and horrifying images in my sleep. It was okay, though. I sort of like the feeling of having nightmares the night before. It gives me something to talk about to my siblings, cousins, and friends the next day. They actually sound more funny when told than remembered or maybe it's just me being fond of giving out side comments.

Last Thursday, I got the chance to see what I consider to be one of the most spiritual films ever made--Avatar. Lance and I enjoyed the film so much that until now we're still talking about the most remarkable and symbolic scenes of the film. It was a spiritual slash sci-fi film. I don't hate sci-fi films but I don't adore them either. It's probably because the beginning years of my life has been fed with sci-fi films like Dune, Aliens, Star Wars, Star Trek, Starship Troopers (okay, this is a little contemprary) etc. Then I remembered the stories of Christopher Pike which are mostly inspired by science fiction yet I loved so much. I have lots of favorite authors right now who I know are better than this writer but his writing holds a very special part in my heart because his "Spooksville Series" was what pushed me into the world of fiction. Adam, Cindy, Sally, Watch and Bryce. These five 12-year olds served as my company to the worlds of the extra-terrestrial, outer space, mythical creatures, witches, castles, and the undead. Pike's genre is focused on science-fiction with a touch of romance every now and then. Spooksville has 24 books in its series and my cousins, Kuya Alvin, Ate Maan and I actually completed 24 of them. After Spooksville, my cousins moved on to R.L. Stine books and Christopher Pike's young adult fiction. I was 10 years old then and was not ready yet to read a book without my five heroes and heroines to accompany me so I stayed with Spooksville by reading them all over again. I even wrote my own version of Spooksville when I was in grade 6 for the plain reason of having something "Spooksville-like" to read again. I guess I was 11 and a half when my cousins have finally convinced me to try R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and Fear Street. Okay, I wasn't fond of Goosebumps 'cause I found them too childish particularly "How I Got My Shrunken Head" and "Creature Teacher" (I remember Spooksville also has a similar story entitled "The Creature in the Teacher" and it was way better than R. L. Stine's). So, I started reading Christopher Pike's young adult fiction and some of my favorites were:

• Remember Me , a story about a girl who dies suddenly in the middle of a party but is unable to leave Earth because she hasn't completed her purpose yet. She is joined by another ghost, Peter, a childhood crush and together they find who killed her--if she truly didn't kill herself as some of her friends claim. I didn't like the 2nd and 3rd installment of the trilogy, though;
  

• Star Group, a story of a group of friends who calls themselves the Star Group goes on camping and discover supernatural entities in the forest. I narrated the story to my longtime friend, Mon and he actually dreamt of something similar to the story. This book actually inspired me to write a story about my friends during my junior year in high school based on Mon's terrifying dream. I do consider it to be one of the creepiest stories I've ever read;
  

• The Last Vampire series, the story of the last remaining vampire named Alisa. The series revolve around the idea of Hindu spirituality and reincarnation. It also has very interesting and new conceptions about vampires. One of the best vampire books I've read second to Anne Rice's;

• Final Friends Trilogy, how can I forget these trilogy! It is actually a typical high school love story which revolves around the main characters' quest to find answers regarding the death of a young girl named Alice. It is hilarious and touching at some points. I actually enjoyed Russ and Sarah's alcoholic-athlete-versus-sarcastic-school-president love story than the main characters' Michael and Jessica's simple nice-smart-guy-falls-for-beautiful-and-smart-but-socialite-girl.

Other favorite Pike books include Scavenger Hunt and See You Later. I love the adventures and twists in Scavenger Hunt and the creepy religion-related suspense in See You Later. I'm actually thinking about making a collection of all the books I have read when I was young. I hope to read them again 'cause it would be just like going back in time and reminiscing my childhood. You see, I was the typical homebody during my adolescent years. Then there came R. L. Stine who really crept out my nights the most with his Fear Street Series. I remember how the Fear Street Saga: The Betrayal/The Secret/The Burning was the first "thick" book I ever tried to read. His stories are usually set on school and, of course, the fictitious Fear Street where evil lurks and bad things happen. In this collector's edition, the history of Fear Street is retold through different characters and their horror stories. I've read a lot of Fear Street books. They're very easy to read and understand so I didn't really had a hard time learning my vocabulary back in 1st year high school. Some of the most remarkable books I can remember was The Boyfriend, The Thrill Club, Sunburn, The Mind Reader and The Runaway. I have read more but these are some of the books which stories I could still remember vaguely, though.
I also enjoyed some of his books which enables the reader to choose their own fate after every chapter. I think the books are titled "Choose Your Nightmare.." something. At the end of every chapter, readers get to choose their own action and decision as the main character of the story. Footnotes are located beneath the page which indicates the page number of the "fate" the readers have chosen. I'm not sure if you get the idea through my description but it sure was a hell lot of fun for me because I felt like I was making my own ending. I actually browsed all the pages to find out what the rest of the choices have in store had I picked another page.
I can also remember another sci-fi series which got me into trouble with my mother--the Replica Series by Marilyn Kaye. My parents did encourage my reading habits but they preferred that I borrow from my Kuya Alvin rather than buying from the bookstore. So, I literally had to beg them to buy me some books from the series because my aunt (Kuya Vin's mother) has been spending too much for my Kuya's collection. More often than not, my parents would buy me at least 4 books every school year. Anyway, Marilyn Kaye's series revolves around the story of Amy, a 12-year old girl who has extraordinary abilities which are very Superman-like to be exact but without any memories of her past. She then discovers that she is one of the 13 clones that an underground organization has been keeping secret. I've completed 11 books of the series. However, I'm actually not sure if the 11th book Lucky Thirteen is the last in the series because if it is, it surely does have many questions left hanging. (Okay, I just discovered that NO, it is not the last of the series. It has 13 more books and I forgot that I have actually read the 12th book where I fell in love with Paris.)

Like most young readers at my age, there is no denying that I was also once a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys reader. But I was inconsistent because I was simply depending on my Kuya Vin and Ate Maan's collection of books. It is through Ate Maan's collection that I was able to read a couple of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. But since I have already been exposed to various suspense/detective stories in both Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine, I didn't find the books challenging and interesting to read anymore.

If I were to compare Christopher Pike and R. L. Stine, I'd still choose Pike over Stine because I'm more impressed with the stories that he has to tell. I like his twists, his incoporation of myths and spiritual ideas more than Stine's simple who-killed-who mysteries. For me, he is just the best young adult storyteller and someday I'm going to make sure that I have all his books available for my children to read.

The Bridal Shower

I have never been to bridal showers. Last Sunday was my first taste of an all-girls (naughty) slumber party. I am, of course, not the naughty type so I kind of slightly panicked when my friend Sab and Vergic informed me about the "porn star" theme of our surprise bridal shower for a college friend, Ivy. First off, I do not own any belongings you can consider pornographic. I'm really trying hard to get away from those. Wait, lemme think again... Haha! So, thanks to Nicole Kidman's style in Eyes Wide Shut, I was able to bring a long-sleeved polo. Unfortunately, an insane photographer friend named Mads forced me out of my long-sleeves and obliged me to wear a black spaghetti-strapped dress. It was quite a nightmare to wear 'cause I could see fats bulging out of the dress everytime I look at the mirror. I also could not contend with my friends. Hell, they've got the nicest curves.

I had so much fun that night. I always have fun spending time with the DreamTeam (a group of friends from college) but this time the party was exclusive for girls. Unsurprisingly, I screwed up the surprise due to my stupidity. I was hastily putting away gadgets from the table (while Sab, Irene and Marthina were already hiding on their own as a part of the preparation to surprise Ivy) when the door was opened by Vergic, Ivy and Ara. I panicked and stupidly attempted to salvage the situation by covering myself with a varnished chair. It was really stupid 'cause I was still trying to hide pathetically when the lights were finally turned on.

The party started with several narcissistic activities like recording ourselves while singing and dancing in front of my laptop's webcam. We actually looked like hyenas trying to lip-sync the songs playing on Ara's iPod. I guess this is the product of being left by ourselves without any boyfriends in sight. I was dancing and singing like crazy I didn't even care that I was not that close to Ivy during our college days and it might actually be the first time she had seen me behave like that. I didn't really care about what people would say that night. I was having the time of my life and I have never felt so free just exhausting myself like that.

The night was unbelievable. It started with games organized by Sab such as "Pinoy Henyo", charades and the infamous clay-molding. I could not stop myself from enjoying so much that I have completely forgotten every external factor which has been bothering me lately. The night was naughty, yes, but nobody ever talked about sex. Nobody ever asked who's done it or with whom. It was a crazy night but I must say, it was still a wholesome celebration. I'm not sure how my other friends define "wholesome" but I really believed we were sexy that night in a very wholesome way. :-)At first, I was quite hesitant how to behave because Ivy and I never really hang out back in college. We have lots of common friends but never really had the chance to get to know each other so I was kind of surprised that she was actually very fun and easy to hang out with. I am very happy about her getting married. I heard the groom-to-be is a very spiritual and good-hearted man.Hence, the celebration made me wonder who among my friends would get hitched next. I'm positive it won't be me so it's either Gervic or Marthina. Hahaha just a dumb inside joke! I realized that we're not getting any younger. Sooner or later, our "get togethers" would gradually include lesser attendees. Maybe Sab or Mads would be next in the wedding lane. I don't know. All I know is that I should be ready when that day comes. I have to start taking my life seriously and stop procrastinating like a spoiled brat. I will not be able to just text Irene or walk Me-an into a corner to tell her my frustrations. Sooner or later, we would all be having our different lives. I will not be able to ask Vergic out anytime or chat with Ara about our recent ramblings. I will not be able to debate with Sab about current events or joke around with Marthina. Holy crap, I'm such a worried freak. I just can't help but imagine how it would all turn out after many years. It's really hard when you become emotionally-attached too much with people. You tend to be sensitive with regard to these kinds of issues or maybe it's just me.

What the heck, this bridal shower has more purpose in my life than I have expected. It wasn't just a fun and extraordinary night. It's a night to remember and to be pondered upon. Now, it's time to sigh...

I'm getting worse each day

Last week, while unwittingly consuming carbon monoxide during our 30-minute ride from Binan to San Pedro, Laguna, Lance and I engaged into a reflective conversation which led us into agreeing how our current life activities seemed to have become unproductive and "unlike us". I haven't been coming to work on time for the past 2 months. I'm always late and I'm afraid I have consumed most of my sick leaves for the last year to cater my nocturnal habits and idiosyncrasies. I'm reaching my work quota, though, despite my numerous "undertimes" and tardiness. I also tried going to work on Sundays to make up for my half days during Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of graduate school. I'm really trying, you know. However, each day at work seemed to be dragging me down into being a lowlife. School, friends, Lance, pets, and home are the only elements of excitement in my life right now. I'm afraid I'm becoming someone I have always sworn never to be--a slob.

In our conversation, I reluctantly swallowed my pride and told Lance, "lagi ko naiisip... hindi kaya lahat ng kine-claim ko sa sarili ko puro front lang para ma-establish ko identity ko sa iba." (I've always been thinking. . . is it possible that everything I claim myself to be is merely a front to establish my identity to others?). I was looking far ahead of me avoiding his eyes. I was afraid his eyes would agree. He didn't say anything at once so I decided to elaborate more (still not looking at him).

"Lagi ko sinasabi mahilig ako magsulat. Hindi na nga ako halos nakakasulat sa journal ko, ng stories ko. Laging 'di natatapos. Sabi ko mahilig ako magbasa eh yung huling librong binili ko di ko pa natapos." (I always say I love to write. I haven't been writing on my journal. . . I can't even finish my stories. I said I love reading but I didn't even get to finish the last book I've bought.)

"Tinatamad ka na kasi, mahal." (Because you're becoming lazy). He softly responded. I was so ready for his answer that I almost nodded in agreement simultaneously. Then he shared that he, too, is having the same dilemma. He enjoys freehand drawing so much and actually has the time to perform them but he would just end up playing in Facebook or watching his favorite anime. We're both afraid that we'll lose the skills if we continue on tolerating our procrastinating habits. It's like we're having some extreme “mental block” which is severely affecting our productivity. This is why Paulo Coelho's tweet about routine is very timely for me, “Don't allow routine to transform you in[to] someone you're not.”

Indeed, I am transforming into someone I hate to be. I want to go back to my old self who always finds the minutest light in the darkest places. I know I may not be making any sense. Work is draining me--the nature of it and the management which poorly handles it. It sounds bad to blame the very reason why I am enjoying graduate school but I can't help it. So, before I start on ranting and complaining about work, I'd better publish this one and start believing again that everything will soon be alright.