Wheeee!!!

.:Highly Recommended:.

While I won't review it until after a second viewing, I highly encourage people to watch “The Departed”, which is a very good movie. Don't let the fact that Leo DiCaprio in the movie get in the way. This movie is not fluff at all. It's very good, very brilliant, and very gripping.

.:The Comic Book Conundrum:.

It's a Friday, and it's my first day of my 3-week long leave. That being said, I wanted to tag along with Elbert so I could see how different his workshop for grade school kids would be from his workshop for high school girls. The comic art workshop was going to be in Assumption San Lorenzo for the high school alternative class program.

So anyways, we took a cab to get there, and one thing I really noticed was how El really doesn't carry any preparatory materials, and was perfectly prepared to make do with whatever he ends up being dealt with, though I have yet to see what he can actually do about being handed nothing but a blackboard and chalk. One of the first things he did was add “hanky panky” to the whiteboard's “WFTD”, which I misread as “WTFD”. He even went ahead and gave the ruddy thing a working definition.

Once we got there, we hung around the lounge just to grab a bite, then headed out to the computer room where the art workshop was going to be. El's been here before, but I pretty much had no idea what to expect, truth be told. Soon enough, the students started filing in, and once El started asking them why they were even there, it was becoming clear that most of them were there just because they ran out of alternatives. Regardless, it was an hour and a half to kill, and Elbert started talking about what defines a comic book, and then the five basic tools needed to create a comic book: the page, the panel, the layout, the words, and the images.

Throughout, I was introduced as Mr. Kel Fabie, and used for a lot of Elbert's examples. He was mainly ragging on my hair, but it's all good. After a while, it was my turn to speak, and I opened with a magic trick that I somehow managed to segue into foresight, which I explained was a necessity for being a comics book writer who doesn't illustrate.

Afterwards, we were winding down and the girls started asking us about anime. They practically screamed in delight whenever Elbert or I would stamp our “seal of approval” on this or that series, and they were amused with the impressions I did of Master Jeremiah and Toguro. Talk about Chii and Chobits also happened, as well as GTO. It was definitely funny how all the students just went all fangirly in a blink of an eye.

We then had wonderful lunch at the lounge, and I saw Peppy's sister. Took a while before it registered to me that it was Peppy, but there. It was all good, regardless, and Elbert and I relaxed a bit in Greenhills before we headed back out to Makati, this time for Jamie's grandfather's ninth-day memorial service.

Amid the lechon baka, El, Jamie, and I had interesting discussions, and El tried pimping out Jamie's sister to me, who was already a lawyer. I'm not quite sure if I'm her type, but whaddaheck. I'm not really too gung-ho on looking or anything for anyone. I'm just really coasting along at this point.

We capped the day off with desert at Flaming Wings for the third straight day at the exact same table with April, and we discovered much to our delight just how awesome the Wicked Oreos desert offered by Flaming Wings turned out to be.

.:Saturday's Birthday Blast:.

Well, it was my grandmother's birthday, so we celebrated at Sumo San, where we had a sumptuous lunch, and it was then followed by me meeting up with Estelle and JP because, unless I was mistaken, I was depressed at the time for some reason or some other. In any case, we then ended up dropping by my dentist, before we all headed out to kidnap Elbert and Debbie to then head off to Estelle's watch just to watch “Shutter” and “Love's Concerte”. The funny thing is that Elbert really had scary dreams about “Shutter” after the movie, including him dreaming one of his exes was chasing him after he threw her off when it turned out she was perched atop his shoulders. Just when he awoke from the dream as her hands approached his face, he turned to me, and I turned around in my sleep at that very moment and my hands landed in front of his face, which scared him to the point of tears. Haha.

Love's Concerte still has an effect on me. By the time she was turning the clock back, I just froze there, as I was really gripped by that scene.

This was followed up by the news that I actually sang Michael Learns To Rock in my sleep, and Elsie was telling me to shut up while she was also asleep. This is weird... really weird.

Anyways, that was Saturday in a nutshell. It was a relatively cheap affair, since we were actually supposed to watch Twilight Dancers, but instead, we went ahead and watched DVD's at Estelle's place instead.

.:Sunday Awesomeness:.

I was really keen on watching “Don_Q”, a contemporary adaptation of the Don Quixote play by PETA, and ended up going with El and 'Elle to the play. Well, what else is new, right? In any case, it was still all good since I really enjoyed the play and the stylized techniques they employed to underscore the fact that you were entering a video game world ala Ragnarok, and the characters were portrayed real well. Eric Quizon and Eugene Domingo played Don_Q's parents, albeit only via pre-recorded spiels shown on the white screens. It was pretty cool, really

The storyline was very allegorical while at the same time grounded in reality. At the same time, the characters, in spite of the fact that they were centuries removed from the setting of the original Don Quixote, still resonated in its own way the essence of the original. It may take some looking, but there are still windmills in his mind that Don_Q had to fight against, and the play really underscored it.

Of course, Elbert and 'Elle noticed that I wasn't entirely watching just the play, as on the floor where the actors were, a small section of the audience was actually seated in the center, and there was someone who caught my eye. So after intermission, I went down, got to know her and her friends, then ended up seated with them. Elbert and 'Elle were still on the second floor, and they were with 'Elle's teacher, who turned out to be the teacher of the students I was seated with.

Anyways, her name is Willow, and while I haven't really heard from her ever since, you have to admit that her name is a very pretty name.

After the play, I ended up running into Toby from Radio 1, and we just caught up with each other, really. It turned out that Elbert also knew him, and the three of us talked shop for the most part. It turned out to be interesting, although we have to wait and see what happens afterwards. For now, I guess you might say that it's been a very good Sunday that got me to thinking and got me smiling, if only for a while.

.:Monday Blahs:.

I forgot my keys when I got to my condo, so I ended up sleeping at the station instead. I was fairly tired, but afterwards, I met up with Estelle to hopefully get my money from the post office Moneygram center, which didn't turn out too well as we kidnapped Elbert first, and it was pretty funny when we did, regardless.

Made a new acquaintance today. His name's Neil, and he seemed like a quiet guy. We got to the post office too late, but then I was starving already and we headed out to President's for a good meal that was highlighted by roast duck, fried squid, and green mango shake. It was real awesome hearing about how President's used to look like before it became a restaurant, and it was even more fun gaining insights about Chinese culture from the way Elbert talked.

I guess when you are born to a culture that ensures your future whether or not you want that future, it would seem petty when I get petulant over not getting my way or over how people don't become more liberal-minded or at least even-keeled as I tend to be. It's really just a thought, but you tend to come up with some valid insights when you're just thinking out loud.

It was nice seeing the fountain by the post office, though. It seems like it'd be the perfect setting to have a music video, where someone would start dancing, and then magically, everyone in the venue knows the steps and they all go and dance along and stuff. It's a bit amusing, to be honest. Then, the fight scene of the said music video would be held at President's, which looks like a perfect place to have a fight scene in...