Looks like my vow to update the look and header of this site will be delayed… not entirely broken. What a way to start a month – by finding excuses. I swear this time, it’s valid. Jude, the technically-adroit person that he is, reformatted the C drive and in the process deleted my files. My files! Very important files: recipes, cover letters, articles, love letters and two-year’s worth of digital images (Una’s) plus, my favorite software, Photoshop and Dreamweaver have been wiped out as well.

It has been a busy week at work and at home – that explains the minimal posting (yep, another excuse) and am busy hunting for a job. Seriously, this time.

Last week, we (Vet, Marini, Ivy and Joan) had a little party at 10 Dove Street in Banilad to celebrate our angst-ridden, stressed-out existence. It’s a charming café that screams Martha Stewart. As usual, we had our therapeutic, free-for-all turn at the couch with no visible couch present and in the process discovered each other again.

And here’s us:

Here are the resolutions and promises we’ve made to each other:

1. Joan will buy me a diamond tennis bracelet, a diamond eternity ring for Marini, a diamond solitaire ring for Vet, and diamond earrings for Ivy. (Jo, this is a reminder for you.. hehehe)

2. Jogging session every Tuesday and Thursday. Only Doc was not able to attend.

Hahaha! I won’t be surprised if we end up raking pounds instead of losing them. IT Park has become synonymous to food.

3. Exchanging gifts of Chinese charms. For luck, love and wealth.

If you see five 40 something women, partying in Ibiza like there’s no tomorrow that would be us.

And yes, I promise to work on that header.

L-R: Joan (HR Dominatrix), Vet (Writer+Editor), Ivy (Educator), Marini (Physician), Bing (Mama)

I was pondering on the question brought forth by the main character in the book The Orange Girl… about life and if you were given the chance, would you choose to live life even though you have to die, sooner or later. I was in my usual philosophical bent whenever am strapped on my dentist’s chair. I do that to amuse myself… to remind me that far greater things happen while I submit myself to unspeakable pain in the name of vanity. (The teeth are progressing nicely, all straight now and working on closing the gaps and pushing them inward.)

It hit me that there is no point bursting a neuron over such stupid questions. Hahaha! Well, am done being an existentialist for the day. We were never given the chance to choose whether to live this life or not. We were thrust into a cold world, greeted with a sharp slap on our buns and then our survival instincts kicked in: we sucked and cried and demanded to be held. I have yet to know of an infant who suicide. (Note the use of the term as a verb.)

When we were younger, we’re told to share in the name of fairness; after we have developed eloquence to argue our case, we are told that the world is never fair… and now, that we are old, we think we know better but do we, really? Down the road, we are told that selfishness is evil and it is a sin to pursue your own happiness.

I think I just need to go and smoke.

Epic flicks are like canapés to a cocktail party – an integral element but you can’t expect them to fill you for their sole purpose is to tantalize the taste buds and compliment the wine that facilitates the maddening ‘socializing’ that is the core of a cocktail party. Troy, King Arthur, Spartacus to me are supposed to wet your appetite for Graeco-Roman myths and legends and they did.

Watching 300 is an altogether different experience. It was like attending a soiree for all those bona fide geeks and nerds. Hahaha! And I was laughing (the kind that rumbled deep from the tummy and left tears in your eyes) from an inside joke that Jude and I share. This is every geek’s dream.

All the 300 Spartans wore briefs and long red robes that showcase their perfect washboard abs, sculpted chests and taut long legs. The mystic men were deformed half-beings with globules all over their face. The oracle (beautiful, innocent young virgin, drugged and intoxicated) was red haired with red nipples peeking through thin white chiffon. When she writhed in her trance, I was reminded of that other geek in Matrix, who proudly presented to Neo his Lady in Red. I can’t help but digress and Internet, be warned that I will digress a lot.

Xerxes was the epitome of all dislikeable things. He had penciled-on eyebrows, kohl and gold rimmed eyes, his body pierced and dangling from it are gold rings and chains. He towered over the rest of the characters, looked malevolent with his stained red lips and fluid snake-like movement. And his voice: it was deep and husky and reminded me of another villain in Star Wars. Xerxes was a faggot (bisexual is too tamed a word) blown up in such a massive proportion as to incite fear and disgust.

The lines are clever and funny and will surely appeal to most, given that we have overly-stimulated brains. And yeah, no new movie should fail to carry the prevalent ‘girl power’ theme (remember Eowyn in the Return of the King). The Spartan Queen was not only beautiful and looked like she never gave birth, she was feisty. I couldn’t say she was eloquent in her oratory… but all doubts were erased when she drove the blade on one of the councilmen with such force and verve. What a girl! And she was the only one that was not digitally-enhanced… well, her breasts were of the same size as mine.

The fight scenes… if you don’t like Kill Bill or Sin City then you won’t appreciate the video game quality of the fight sequence. By the way, I love Kill Bill!

I will definitely get a DVD copy of 300 and hopefully get my hands on multiple players so I can play Matrix, LOTR, Troy, Kill Bill all at once and of course, invite my geek friends.

1. Birdy sang his version of happy birthday GD (bulol and off-key) while we adults went ahead to dig the food (spag, chicken, ice cream and chocolate cake sans frosting) and Una joined in.

2. Friendster for dessert and the adult conversation that followed:

”She’s not pretty, oi! She’s so pinay but otherwise too common looking. Lapad iya nawong oi.”

“FA baya na siya. Guapa siya oi. Type man na niya kay boobsy man.”

” Jo, you’re so much better.”

”It was K’s image that made me cry. Oh, look at him, he seems happy now. Ay pangit kaayo siya ana na pic. Wala’y friendster si Bennet?”

“This is Jude’s gf. Guapa siya, no?”

“Dili man. Lain iya mata.”

“Yeah, I think she’s wall-eyed. Another friend actually commented that she’s the female version of Michael V.”

“Friends gyud mo, duha.”

3. And the winner for this evening:
“ Hay da, dili na na siya kaanak kay naluto na iyang itlog sumakay ug camels.”
(read: He’s sterile. His balls got cooked from riding all those camels.)