Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 3)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

We pretty much chilled on Day 3 coz this is our last day in Sagada. We woke up at around 6:00 MNL and cleaned and packed up before heading to the poblacion for some breakfast and additional activities.

The bus for Baguio didn't leave until 13:00 MNL so we decided to just lounge around and enjoy the fresh, clean air while we can before we get back to the hustle and bustle of the metro. :)

Getting my Sagada adventure completion cert from Kuya Apz! Weeeh! :D

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 2)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

Okay, so we had a jampacked Day 2 itinerary during our Sagada stay but didn't get the chance to do the first one on the list: witness the sunrise at Kiltepan peak over a sea of clouds. We were out cold from the previous day's activities and barely had 4 hours of sleep that we decided to forego the sunrise viewing. Instead, we woke up at 07:00 MNL and prepared for breakfast and orange-picking instead. :)

Kwentong Kaladkarin # 05: Savoring Sagada (Day 1)

Da Where: Sagada, Mountain Province
Da When: Nov. 20-22, 2010
Da Who: me, Larry, Ice, Paolo and Joy
Da Trivia: a.k.a. 1st Arvato Training Team Building
Da Quotes for the Day: "If you're not hiking, you're not in Sagada anymore."

They say love is lovelier the second time around. Whoever said this must've fallen in love with Sagada and made sure to come back, like what I did a couple weekends ago. My first was August 2009 with Marvin. This time, I enticed my teammates at work with stories of adventure - gastronomical, physical and emotional. I have an extraordinary team so I thought they deserved more than the run-of-the-mill, typical teambuilding activities. *wink*

Thursday, November 18, 2010

My City. My Pride.

Having lived in Manila for almost 6 years, I only get to see my hometown for brief periods of time.
And I can't believe I've missed to witness the past 5 Dinagyang Festivals. I hope I get to go next year in January. *fingers crossed*

But I am, and will always be, proud to be born and raised an Ilongga. :)

 

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Punk. Genius. Billionaire.




If we're Facebook friends, you would have known I've been rambling about The Social Network movie for a few weeks now. If we're friends even before Facebook, you would also know that I didn't jump into the this hype until only about a year ago, when I finally (finally!) created an account, much to the amazement of pals and acquaintances.


I bet before the movie's marketing hit mainstream media and it being released on Oct. 1st (Oct. 27th here in the Philippines), not a lot of folks knew much about Facebook's founders. I was one of them. I only knew that a couple guys from Harvard started this worldwide social phenomenon. After seeing the very interesting movie trailers, I started posting the clips on my Wall until my boss noticed and promised free tickets! The power of Facebook, right there! *wink*


And he did make good on that promise this past Wednesday by treating me to an LFS screening of The Social Network at the sleek Ultra 7 cinema at Eastwood Mall. Movie-watching is as luxurious as it gets, with spacious reclining seats and a butler taking your popcorn and drinks preference. This is the life! Haha!


I read a few great critiques on this movie online since it was shown earlier in the US and the UK but I didn't want to raise my expectations especially after Avatar last year. I know I'd probably get stoned by saying I didn't like James Cameron's movie that much. :)


Well, Fincher and Sorkin didn't disappoint me this time around. Sorkin's take on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich was snappy, witty and so sharp, it can cut through diamond. Fincher's direction was impeccably done, it felt like a suspense thriller with pumped-up scenes every 30 seconds when in fact, once broken down, the scenes were really just a series of legal settlement negotiations and some flashbacks on the characters' college experience. Although I had to keep in mind that probably a lot of those scenes were exaggeration of what happened in real life, just to make the story apt for Hollywood.


I also thought Jesse Eisenberg did a thorough job in portraying Mark Zuckerberg as a smart-alecky genius who is 'trying so hard to be an assh*le'. And excuse me Justin Timberlake's fans out there but I thought his performance was just a little too N*Sync-y for my taste. I also did fall in love with the soundtrack and yeah, maybe a little bit of Andrew Garfield. Haha!


So in my own words, the movie rocked and I would probably watch it again the next time I get the chance. Two thumbs-up here so go and see it! You'll leave the theater with a smile on your face, guaranteed.


And probably a couple daydreams of what you'll do if you were the one with $6.9 billion at the age of 26. LOL! ;D