Twilight: The Book

After countless trips to the crapper (and much to the dismay of my other housemates--due to my extra long stay), I have finally finished reading "Twilight"! Now I understand what my daughter and the other millions of "Twilight" fans are swooning over!

Stephenie Meyer did a great job in re-inventing the "vampire" romance! The proposition of the book is that an Adonis can fall in love with plain, fragile, and clumsy girl! Just imagine how many teenage girls out there who are imagining themselves as Bella! But more than the plot of the story, the play of words in the dialogues between Edward and Bella were unequivocably heartwarming! You could really feel the the emotion being relayed as if you're the one in the midst of the conversation: Edward's internal turmoil to disattach himself from the woman he truly loved yet could not have without putting her at risk and Bella's perceptiveness and bravado in the face of a predator. Let me enumerate a couple of lines to prove this point:

"I wasn’t interesting. And he was. Interesting… and brilliant… and mysterious… and perfect… and beautiful… and possibly able to lift full-sized vans with one hand."---Bella

"It would be more… prudent for you not to be my friend. But I’m tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."---Edward

"I wanted nothing more than to be alone with my perpetual savior. There were so many questions that I couldn’t bombard him with till we were by ourselves."---Bella

"He seemed to be wavering, torn by some internal dilemma. His eyes locked with mine, and I guessed he was making the decision right then whether or not to simply tell me the truth."---Bella

"It was very… hard — you can’t imagine how hard — for me to simply take you away, and leave them… alive."---Edward

"It’s too easy to be myself with you."---Edward

"I was wishing that I could believe that you were real. And I was wishing that I wasn’t afraid."---Bella

"I’m the world’s best predator, aren’t I? Everything about me invites you in — my voice, my face, even my smell. As if I need any of that!"---Edward

"I was afraid… because, for, well, obvious reasons, I can’t stay with you. And I’m afraid that I’d like to stay with you, much more than I should."---Bella

"In that one hour, I thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room with me, to get you alone. And I fought them each back, thinking of my family, what I could do to them. I had to run out, to get away before I could speak the words that would make you follow…"---Edward

"Common sense told me I should be terrified. Instead, I was relieved to finally understand. And I was filled with compassion for his suffering, even now, as he confessed his craving to take my life."---Bella

"Bella, I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt you. You don’t know how it’s tortured me. The thought of you, still, white, cold… to never see you blush scarlet again, to never see that flash of intuition in your eyes when you see through my pretenses… it would be unendurable. You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever."---Edward

Well, I guess you got the point! I'm sure many of you who read the book had your favorite quotes highlighted with a marker! Anyway, I found this site which contains quotable quotes from the Twilight series http://www.twilight-quotes.com/

I truly enjoyed reading this book and is raring to start with the second installment "New Moon" as soon as I get a hand on a paperback copy! I have e-books of the four books but I'm not sure it's wise to bring my laptop with me to the potty room!

Vacation's Over!

As the euphoria of the holiday season ebb away to the twilight we come to the realization that, well, the happy days are over and come Monday---we’re off to the usual routine of work!

The vacation was truly fun while it lasted: chilling out with the kids, snuggling with the wife, waking up late, eating home cooked meals, snuggling with the wife, going to the mall almost everyday, catching up with my favorite tv series, snuggling with the wife, finally finishing the last few chapters of Phil Jackson’s “It’s Only a Game” (and reaching half of “Twilight”), and more snuggling with the wife! Hmmm...must have overdone the snuggling part! At least I don't have the same problem as Hank Moody with his wife!--ha! ha!

It was a rather long respite for me. With December 24, 29, and January 2 declared as special non-working holidays, I needed to move my previously plotted vacation leaves to an earlier date, so, as early as December 15 I was already officially on my holiday hiatus! Actually, there is no such thing as vacation in my line of work. Being the coordinator of store operation’s helpdesk, my laptop is on-line most of the day to make sure that nothing blows up to a major crisis. It was truly a blessing that all was quite on the battle front during these days! This made my vacation all the more enjoyable and relaxing (including that of my boss)!

Well, vacation’s coming to an end ladies and gents! It’s time to psyche ourselves for work, iron those work clothes and stock up on those energy drinks! For all we know, it’s the Christmas season again and I would be once more writing a blog about how it turned out to be---hopefully it would be on the same context of gratification as this one!

Happy New Year!!

Jets Takes Early Vacation

What started out as a promising season ended with a fizzle as the Favre-led New York Jets ran out of fuel at the last stretch of the season.

The Jets were actually on top of their division with an 8-3 slate, which was already double their win total the previous season, but sputtered to lose the remaining 4 of their last 5 games. Their final game loss to the Miami Dolphins officially closed the door for a possible playoffs berth!

There has been a lot of debate as to why the Jets went on a skid and many of them have their fingers pointed at Brett Favre. According to one blog that I read, Favre should not be blamed solely for the dismal performance of the Jets in their last five games since the flaw maybe more on the Jets system itself more than whose quarterbacking. A case in point is the New England situation where Tom Brady was declared out for the season (due to an injury) and was replaced by second string quarterback Matt Cassell. Despite the fact that Cassell has not started a game since being drafted in 2005 he did a superb job in leading the Patriots for the 2008 season. Unfortunately, the 11-5 season that Cassell managed to carve out was not enough to bring them to the playoffs. Yes, the New England system is sound but I don't think it would have worked if Cassell have not played the way he did---successfully filling up the big void left by Brady. I'll give it to the Pats, they know talent when they see one!

Now, I'm a Favre fan and I shifted loyalties when he moved to the Jets, however, statistically speaking, Brett had much to do with the declension of the team. In the last five games, he threw for only 2 touchdowns and gave away 9 interceptions. This kind of stats will not win you games---even if your system is sound! Brett finished the season with 22 TDs and an equal amount of interceptions. Throwing an interception means giving back the ball to the other team and giving them the opportunity to score. It is the accountability of the quarterback. Brett knows this and offers no excuse---bad shoulder and all!

Lola Ayak: In Requiem

It was barely two months ago that my wife and I were in Dingle, Iloilo under the cordial reception of Lola Ayak. At 95 years old, this woman puts real meaning to the simile "as strong as an ox"! So it was a surprise to all of us when we heard that Lola Ayak passed away early morning today. Apparently, Lola Ayak went into a coma late night of the 24th and never recovered.

I remember her fondly because everytime we're in Dingle, she'd always pass me something to eat as if I have a "give me food" neon sign on my forehead! That, and her knack of speaking to me in a barrage of Visayan where all I can understand is, "Noy, @#$%&!" I'm not sure if she notices my glaced eyes during this litany where I could only rhetorically reply, "Opo". For all I know she's asking me if I ate already! Hmmm...come to think of it...those were rather looooong monologues for a question...anyway...

Dingle visits won't be the same without Lola Ayak!

Maria Tinzon: Mother and Beloved Lola---May you rest in peace!

A Christmas Reflection

During the birth of Jesus, God chose some shepherds to first receive the Good News of our Salvation. Why did God choose the poor to be the first to bear witness to the coming of the Messiah? Then I realized that people only remember to call on God during times of difficulty and tend to forget Him when times are good! God chose the poor shepherds because the birth of the Messiah will give them HOPE.

It is only a couple of hours before Christmas and as we busy ourselves with all the last minute preparations, let us pause for a moment and think of what the meaning of Christmas in our lives sans the noche buena feast and the gifts...

From my family to yours---MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Breast Cancer Awareness

"To be forwarned is to be forarmed."

In many aspects of life we have learned to take clues from certain events in the past in order for us to become better prepared when the same situation occurs again in the future. Like during the rainy season when the chances of rain is high, you bring an umbrella; or, knowing that Monday morning traffic is more congested than any other day of the week, you set off earlier than usual. This is the same for breast cancer. Early detection is critical so it is important that the we are aware in terms of the self check procedure. Notice that I mentioned WE and not YOU since---yes my laddie---dudes can be prone to breast cancer too!

I chanced upon this video while web surfing. It is educational and with Olivia Munn teaching us how---definitely entertaining! Go easy now, boy!

Divine Providence

I have written about God's Divine Providence in my blog http://nonoy-1025.blog.friendster.com/2008/05/god-will-provide/ as a testament to my own personal experience. To further expound on God's presence in each of our lives, let me share with you a recent happening in the life of my friend Cora.

Last December 7 I received a text message from her asking for the cellphone number of our former Managing Director (whom we worked for when we were regular employees at Jollibee Novaliches). She said that it was important. After giving her the number, I asked what the urgency was about. According to her, her 3 year old son Angelo is in need of a special operation for HYPOSPADIAS, a birth defect of the urethra in the male that involves an abnormally placed urinary meatus(opening) and she needed to borrow money to cover the expenses---Php 23,000 for the operation alone. After hearing this, I was filled with empathy for Cora since I have also felt being at the end of the rope before.

Angelo was born out of wedlock and Cora doesn't have a stable income so to speak. She's into networking and is mostly under the auspices of her family. Since I am not a rich person I can only give her what my shallow pocket can afford, but I really felt for her and I had this nagging urge to give this woman and her son a MERRY Christmas. So I told her that I'll try to raise additional funds by calling out to our former colleagues in Jollibee. "Pray ka lang," I told her. After which I began my text and e-mail brigade for "Operation Angelo".

I did not envision to generate all of the money but our friend Art from Los Angeles seemed to have jumpstarted the whole thing by pledging half of the total amount and the rest just snowballed! By December 9, total pledges amounted to Php 27,000 not including 2 pledges from abroad with undeclared amounts.

I felt Cora's joy when I gave her the good news and what a wonderful feeling it was---the same feeling I had when I felt God by my side during my times of trouble!

Postscript:
As I've mentioned, Cora does not have a steady job and it would truly be a great help if any of you reading this blog can provide her one. I personally feel that what we have provided her was a temporary solution to her financial problem. As a Chinese proberb would say, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a life time."

She's in her early 40's and was formerly our administrative assistant during our Jollibee days. Unfortunately, she was not able to finish college. I know this isn't much of a criteria to get a job for but I need to try anyway. Who knows, God may again intervene. Can't win the lottery jackpot without placing a bet, right?