“And that’s the way the cookie crumbles…” was Jim Carey’s famous line as Bruce Nolan in the 2003 comedy flick Bruce Almighty. This has got to be one of my favorite comedy films ever! Unforgettably hilarious! I could still remember some scenes clearly even though it has been more than a year since I’ve last watched the full film.

One particular scene that I could never ever get out of my mind was that of Steve Carell’s(40-Year Old Virgin, Bewitched, Over the Hedge). The one where Bruce(Carey), in a desperate urge to oust and replace Evan(Carell) in his position as news anchor, uses his power to mislead his culprit. In the scene, Evan, together with his fellow anchor Susan(Catherine Bell), is in the midst of an on-air report and Bruce alters the prompter into gibberish…causing chaos in the newsroom which apparently lead to Evan’s termination. It was, for me, the funniest scene in the whole movie. Carell did a spectacular job!

Yes, Carell indeed was spectacular as Evan that Universal Pictures actually decided to turn him into an Almighty as, well. Yes, peepz…a Bruce Almighty 2 is now in production and it’s entitled Evan Almighty with, of course, Steve Carell playing the lead.

The synopsis goes below:

“Steve Carell, reprising his role as the polished preening newscaster Evan Baxter of Bruce Almighty, is the next one anointed by God to accomplish a holy mission in thehilarious new comedy Evan Almighty. Blockbuster comedy directo Tom Shadyac(The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty) returns behind the camera for this next episode of divine intervention. This time, however, his cast grows two-by-two. Newly elected to Congress, Evan leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his family to suburban northern Virginia. Once there, his life gets turned upside-down when God(Morgan Freeman) appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark. But his befuddled family just can’t decide whether Evan is having a mid-life crisis or is truly onto something of Biblical proportions…“

[Courtesy of universalpictures.com]

Well, this flick seems promising. Especially with Carell as lead. The movie is said to be released next year.

Just got back from our Clan Reunion. I had a great time out there! It wasn’t that perfect an event but then I always make it a point to have fun. The KJ’s were the ones who didn’t enjoy…lol! Putol ang diet. Just couldn’t resist the food. Hehe! Also met a lot of my nieces and nephews who are actually older than me. (I’ve got tens of ‘em)

Anyways…the reunion was held in Villarica, Midsayap…my Mom’s hometown. Relatives came all the way from Davao, Iligan, CDO, Bukidnon, Baguio, and even from outside the country. That was the second grand reunion of the Filipinas clan. (Yep…that’s my middle name…our country’s name, with an “F”.Hihi!) The first one(last year) was held at my cousin Butch’s farm in Bukidnon. Horseback riding is one my fondest memories during that first grand get-together.

Speaking of Bukidnon, before making it home to Davao last Sunday, just as we were supposed to, Ma and I were invited by another couzin from Bukidnon to spend the night at their pad in Valencia. It was spontaneous, really. We never planned to make a sidetrip, but Ma agreed anyway. And I couldn’t have been more ecstatic! I was like..yaaaaaaay!!! And so, off we went from Midsayap to Valencia, instead of Davao.

It has always been a pleasure to be in Bukidnon. Though I’ve been there a thousand times already, each trip I make towards there never gets less exciting for me. I just loooove the cool air…the rolling hills and mountains…the peacefulness…the zigzag road towards it…everything! It was just so sad we only had a night to spend over there. Tsk.

Hmm…that was quite a long weekend. A memorable one, too. The next reunion for our clan, Davao will be host. Tentative plans have been made already. That would be uh…two years from now. They’re kind of expecting a lot. So I think there’s gonna be much preparing. Anyway, we’ve got the whole year to plan. Meantime, it’s good to just remember those fun moments during the previous gatherings and at the same time, consider what went a little off course so the next time would be better.

At some point during my high school years, I was one of the ladies on this planet who was crazily smitten over one of the greatest actors to ever land on Hollywood…the man with the million-dollar smile…Thomas Cruise Mapother IV…or simply, Tom Cruise. He intrigued me in Interview with the Vampire, touched my heart in Far and Away, knocked me off my feet in M:I:II, had me respect him a lot as an actor in Rain Man, and held me captive as an avid fan in Jerry Maguire.

Labeled by Premiere as the most powerful actor in the world, and by another magazine as the greatest actor in Hollywood, one wouldn’t wonder why this guy has almost half of the women population on earth drooling over him. He grins, and uhhh, man…I’m just…gooone! He’s quite a charm, it’s more than obvious. The women in his life would greatly attest to that.

First, it was actress Mimi Rogers, whom he was married with for 3 years(they were officially divorced on my 3rd birthday…lol!). And then there’s the Aussie redhead enchantress Nicole Kidman, whom he had two adopted kids with. I was heartbroken when they got divorced. I was just a heeeyoooooge Tom-Nic fan. But definitely the 10-year marriage was something. Marriages like that, in Hollywood, don’t come in loads, ya know. Then Pé came…I mean Penelopé Cruz, his Vanilla Sky co-star. Pé was what Tom called her. I detested her at those times, thinking that she probably was the reason for Nic and Tom’s divorce. They dated for about 3 years. Quite a couple, huh? The only lady he was with(publicly) who was shorter than him. But then, if it’s Tom Cruise, would the height still matter? Well…Katherine Noelle Holmes(*grin) certainly didn’t mind. Yep, that’s Katie Holmes‘ full name. Tom sure is besotted with her. Make that besotted, times two! Man, he’s sooo taken with her…and vice versa. The Oprah interview, which he had about a year ago, simply tells it all. This clip is a chunk of the 42-minute talk show episode. I watched it(the full interview) about an hour ago and was kinda taken aback with how Tom was. It was the first time for me to watch the whole show. All I saw before were just excerpts and clips.

As I was watching the whole thing, you know..the whole jumping-on-the-couch and getting-on-the-floor thing…I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it was true. I mean…I’m fanatic, not insensible. While I go gaga over my favorite Hollywood hunks, I don’t skip reminding myself that behind the camera, they’re not fairy tale heroes anymore…they’re simply humans with as much body parts and probable emotions as I have. Their only edge is that they get to be whoever they want to be in front of the whole world. But then, that’s where the point comes in. Is the persona they’re trying to project in front of millions the same as who they actually are?

In Tom’s case, the answer to that, according to directing genius Steven Spielberg, is a yes. He says on a videotape during that Oprah interview…“What you see, on your show, Oprah, what your audience sees with Tom, is how I know Tom. There are no secrets, he doesn’t have an agenda.”. Hmm…that’s pretty comforting. But then, you’ll never know. I don’t completely buy it…but for old times’ sake, I give Tom Cruise the benefit of the doubt…just as I do all my other favorite stars.

Anyway…jumping a notch backward, Katie once said to Seventeen that her biggest dream was to marry Tom Cruise. When asked by Oprah how she feels now about holding Tom’s hand in front of millions when once it had only been a dream, she simply answered…“I’m glad I was a big dreamer.” Oh, she dreamed big, alright…for now, the impossible smile of Tom Cruise belongs only to her. Whew! Whatta damned, lucky gal. Lol!

Oh, well…I hope the Tom and Katie thing lasts. I mean, as far as the benefit of the doubt that I give them goes, I think they’re good people. They got a Suri in their life now and it would really delight a fan like me to have Tom make this one last. They seem to be reeeally good for each other. And I hope that isn’t just for show.

p.s.
I haven’t seen M:I:III yet! Can you believe that? Lol! It was Poseidon that I first checked out. Gonna be watching the Mission tomorrow. Got the scheds penned down already. Hihihi!

Woke up this morning with this strange throbbing on the upper part of my back. At first, it didn’t occur to me how I came down with the discomfort. And then I realized in seconds as I was roused by the stroke of sunshine on my face…the halter top I wore to the party last night did it! “Aaaaaaaawwwcccchh…”, I slurred as I sat up.

Last night, a friend in high school celebrated her debut. During our past 2 years in college, the girls in the classroom’s 18th birthdays were our usual means of getting together and catching up on each other’s lives. My debut celebration was the first one in the class…last night’s debutante’s was the last one. Every lady in the class has already been officially welcomed to the world of adulthood.

Wow! It’s such a wonder how time flies so fast! Yesterday, we were silly kids in the quadrangle of our high school alma mater playing patintero, today we’re so-called ladies and gents walking around in our casual attires making wishes for our now-adult former classmates. It’s rather a bit sad knowing our seeing other would now be lessened. But then, that has always been inevitable.

Enough with the despondent overtone!

We had a great time last night! It had been a while since we all have last been together like that and everybody was just ecstatic over the event. My celebrant friend had me, and a college friend of hers to compere the program. 18 treasures, 18 revelations, and 18 roses composed half of the celebration(the other big half, of course, was the dinner…wahihihi!). The 18 revelations, as what me and my co-host mentioned last night, was(and is always), the most crucial part of the program, where the debutante is concerned. Why? ‘Cause there’s as much marvelously flattering things as there are crucifying exposés to be mentioned about you! Lol! Stuff that your family and/or your other friends may not know about you(stuff that you wouldn’t necessarily have them know). Okay, maybe I overstated a bit. But basically, it is like that. Hehe!

I remember during my 18th night…I had 18 songs and 18 revelations in my program. And I jokingly briefed my friends who worked behind the scenes in the program to go and tell the 18 revelators before the celebration started…”Guys…I warn ya…nothing about this and nothing about that, ok? Or else you’re out!”. They just laughed and said what they wanted to say about me, anyway. And there I was, at the middle of everyone’s scrutiny…wanting to grab the nearest waiter’s tray so I could sneak out of the party! I watched the celebrant last night as her friends did the revealing ritual and what I saw reminded me of how I felt during my time. I shared the feeling of wanting to strangle any of those with too revealing revelations. Wehehehe!

Whew! Well, anyway, the party might’ve ended after the program but the night certainly didn’t. Me and the others went out for some karaoke sessions! And, boy, did we have a great time times two! (I badly wanted to sing Bituing Walang Ningning but it was unbelievably not in the list. Huhu! I was serious when I said in that comment page that I wanted to sing it, Sir Denz and Almz! Lol!). But as I was having a great time singing my heart out, it was, I believe, during that time when I got my panuhot. Lol! The place just wasn’t cold enough to put on a jacket. So there, ya have it, the retaliation of having fun…right at my back. Lol! I just wish these medicated plasters I stamped on my back would work.

The night was concluded early in the morning, with me and my bestfriend having a talk over chips and C2 green tea here at my apartment. The original plan was to watch Vendetta but it seemed too late then. She miraculously had her father agree to her having a sleepover here. Lol! She was surprised to be allowed, but very delighted, nonetheless.

I thank God for the night out I had with my friends. It was just pure fun! Oh, the glee in life! Makes you realize there’s more to it than what you actually think. Hmm…

Well…ciao for now. Hungry already. Gotta chow down!

Apart from music, dance is another area that really interests me. I consider dancing as an expression of one’s feeling. Dancing, for me, means freedom to be whoever you want to be at a moment. Some of the most profound minutes in my life were spent in dancing. I just love the liberty in it.

Anyway…since I love dancing and movies at the same time, I have always been fond of watching movies which has dance as the main theme. Modern, ballroom, hip hop, jazz, even cheerleading…it doesn’t matter what category, as long as it’s dance, I shall be stimulated to check out the flick. I’m mainly interested in the dance routines and the choreography that the cast does. A meaningful storyline would simply be a plus.

A number of what I’ve watched are Dirty Dancing:Havana Nights(still didn’t get the chance to watch the original..but I’ve been wanting to), One Last Dance(amazingly good! Swayze and his wife, Lisa, are aaaawsuum!), Save the Last Dance, Center Stage, Dance With Me, Bring It On, Bring It On Again, You Got Served(I would love for them to make a sequel to this), and most recently, Shall We Dance. Don’t know if I missed a thing. Now there’s another one I’m watching out for…

It has got Antonio Banderas playing the lead…and taking the lead in this upcoming dance flick entitled Take the Lead. It’s probably Shall We Dance with a twist of You Got Served. Interesting, huh? Ballroom with a twist of hiphop. Hmm…I simply can’t wait. Just check out the flick’s official site…and see fo yo self! Oh and pump up your volume as you surf!

It’s kinda late and I’m wide awake! I don’t really know if that’s a good thing or not.

That’s why I don’t like sleeping and drinking coffee in daylight…’coz they double my insomia attacks the night later. Arrrrhhg! I’m not in the least feeling sleepy. And I doubt if I’ll get sleepy in a short while. I’ll probably stay awake the whole night…

Naaaah…tsk…baloney!

Hmm…so now I’m figuring out a way to get sleepy. Maybe I should finish watching Matador…I wasn’t able to finish it last night. Hmm..naaah…only reason why I’d watch a movie is because I’m intent on watching it. And I don’t really feel like watching it now. Hmm…

Maybe I should finish that novel I’ve been reading for quite a few days, then…hmm…I could do that. Reading always gets me to sleep. Ha! Now I’ve found a way! Ciao for now! And g’morning, world!

I read something minutes ago. And I don’t know if I was meant to read it. I don’t know if he purposefully let me read it.

I just can’t help but wonder who he was talking about. And I most certainly couldn’t help but match certain puzzles…connect certain pm’s to some of his posts.

What was that all about, anyway? (Gosh, I somehow wish you were reading this…maybe you are..maybe you aren’t..but if you are then let me know. I’m certain you’d know it is you I’m speaking of, anyway.).

You had no business puzzling me like that(or maybe you had). Why those messages, anyway? Damn! I feel so trapped. You put me into this maze and I couldn’t move ‘coz I’m afraid of being lead into the wrong direction and I might never be able to get back.

I totally miss the friendship. Totally. I miss the old times. You may not know this but those were the most meaningful days of my life. I don’t recall ever feeling that…peaceful. And honored. You were one of the few who made me feel life…and the good things in it. Our friendship has always been(and would always be) something I would hold in my heart for as long as I live.

There were certain stuff you randomly told me. Stuff that made me ask questions. But then I never asked those questions out loud ‘coz I know it would’ve altered our friendship in some way. And I didn’t ever want that to happen. I respected our friendship too much to ever have let something(anything) get in the way. I just couldn’t risk it. Even if I had to spare telling you the truth(the whole truth about how I felt). I simply knew it wasn’t worth it. The friendship was more valuable than anything else.

I just wish we could talk like we did before. Things are different now. And months without constant communication left things kinda awkward, in a sense. We talk, but it isn’t like before. And I have this dreadful feeling that it won’t ever be like before. I could do something about it, though. And maybe I would do something about it. But then of course, this isn’t only about me doing something. Some part has to come from you, too.

Gosh, I don’t know why I’m writing this! It’s not like you’re gonna read it anyway(but if you are exploring enough, then you probably will coz the link to this blog is just out there somewhere). And it’s not like I’m sure about the whole thing. I think I just needed to let it out. All the frustrations. All the questions that I just couldn’t ask. And everything else I supress. They were all like a zillion droplets of water trapped inside a balloon…wanting to flow freely into the air and onto the ground. I’m not opting for these questions to be answered, anyway. I only want them to be thrown out into the void. Yeah, I believe that’s what I just did…throw everything into the void.

But through it all…thank you. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my life.

p.s.
and if it is me you were referring to…then the answer’s NO…the friendship hasn’t been lost. And know this…it’ll never..ever be lost.

Whew..blogging it all out has always been relieving!

I was sitting in my room this afternoon thinking about…stuff…and my mind randomly came across this particular line from the ‘98 Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks big screen reunion flick You’ve Got Mail. Joe(Hanks) got stuck in an elevator on his way to his apartment. While being stuck inside, waiting for rescue, he and the others who were inside talked about what they would be doing if they ever got out of the elevator. Later on, he relays the event to his online buddy Kathleen(Ryan). Joe says to Kathleen…“There was a man sitting in the elevator with me, who knew exactly what he wanted…and I found myself wishing I were as lucky as he.”

Just like Joe, I kinda found myself wishing, too, that I were as lucky as that guy who knew what he was gonna do after he got out of the elevator. I mean not that I’m stuck in an elevator or anything, but my life…it just seems rather..unsure.

People always talk about never being afraid to reach for our star. To go for your dreams. To always have faith. Well, I don’t exactly have a problem doing that. On the contrary, I’d think my problem is even bigger ‘coz I kind of don’t know what I want with my life. The general objectives are in tact, but the slots for the specific ones remain unfilled.

I think it’s probably because of wanting so much to do with my life. I mean…how could you possibly be reaching for your star when there’s about a hundred of them up there and you don’t know which one to reach for?

What do I really really want? I’ve been figuring it out for as long as I can remember. At one time during my high school years, I thought about it, too and I figured that maybe I should start by remembering ‘what I wanted to be ‘ when I was little. Kindegarten little. And so I looked for my yearbook ‘coz I recalled that there was this “I want to be a…” section under our graduation pictures. And as I looked through the pages and found my profile, guess what I wanted to be…a nun. I was flabbergasted and awed at the same time with what I read. I mean, I don’t remember ever wanting to be a nun in all my years of growing up. After having been stunned by my somewhat rediscovery of my then-ambition, I did a little soul-searching and tried to delve into my conscience, asking if I still wanted to be that(a nun). And well…I uh…I kinda wondered how I ever got into the notion. I just didn’t see myself as one. Still don’t. Not there’s anything wrong in being one, it’s just that I find that there’s something not right about my being one.

Ok…so at least at that point I moved a half a step forward by finding out I wasn’t going to be one thing. But ’til now, I still don’t know what another thing I am gonna be. Thaaat’s right. I haven’t got it all figured out yet. That’s what I’m always praying for now. Guidance and enlightenment.

I pray that I’m not in the wrong path. And I pray that if I were in the wrong path, He’d be with me all along. That way, it wouldn’t be so wrong after all…’coz I know that whatever path I am now in, if He’s always gonna be with me, then it would feel right all along. *xhale*

Lead me please.

To one of the two reasons why I’m brought to this world…to the one who is the biggest reason why I am what I am today…and to the one sent by God to teach me what love is like…

Happy Mother’s day, Ma!

No words could ever express this gratefulness for everything you’ve done for me. You are more than just my Mom…you’re my angel.

Daniel Craig, 38, is officially gonna be the next James Bond. The first and only time I’ve seen this guy act was in Tomb Raider, opposite Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft.
I think he did pretty well and he’s a looker, too. But as a Double 0? Hmm…I think he rather doesn’t look the part.

There were other next-James-Bond choices whom I’d have gone for(in terms of looks, particularly).

Aussie hottie Julian McMahon is one. I’ve been completely taken by him since his Charmed days. He was one big reason why I watched Charmed even if it was way past my uh…then-curfew for TV. Lol! He also did very well in Fantastic Four. I only wonder why Craig was chosen over him. Hmm.

47-year-old Rupert Everett is another choice. Looking at that pic of his made me say he faceically qualified to be the next Bond. *grin* I’ve seen him in The Next Best Thing acting opposite Madonna. Not Bad.

Hmm..moving on…
Hugh Jackman(oh, boy!), was also one of the choices. In fact, in most online surveys, he often got the most vote on being next in line to Brosnan. But apparently, even his ass-kicking roles in X-Men and Van Helsing didn’t get him to play as a Double O.

There were other choices, too. Clive Owen, Orlando Bloom(the pose would qualify…but the hair would not…), Adrian Paul, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, even Colin Farell. If I were to judge who among these Bondables is going to get te role, I’d surely have a hard time. (But then again, there’s Julian McMahon..and well…I’d give him the role without any doubt whatsoever…hihihi! I just love ‘im!)

Oh well…guess I’d just have to watch out for this next Bond. See how he got himself the role. Maybe watching the movie would prove me wrong about my disapproval of his being Pierce’s sucessor.