Ratatouille Review

This is an AWESOME movie - visually stimulating, funny, and yet value-loaded in a very amiable manner. My favorite cartoon movie thus far. You don't get to see such movies often, so much substance, heart-warming, full of life's
lessons yet doesnt bore you at all.

The scenes that have a lasting impression on me are:

Deep scenes:
1) Gusteau's review - of course who would forget the catchy lines at the end of the movie.
Indeed so true, we are always capable to bring someone down, we tend to underestimate the potential of others. It takes a movie like Ratatouille to remind us that anyone is a star in his or her own right.

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we
critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.


2) Remy's drift
When Remy was carried by the currents and got separated from his family, he was sullen. Gusteau appeared with his funny 'I'm a figment of your imagination'lines <- i love this figment line hehe. I totally agree with what he advised Remy 'If you're focused on what you've left behind, you will not be able to see what lies ahead. Now go up, and look around!'

It was also the same time when I got ticked off by a friend's comment. There are a few unpleasant things that got me disappointed, and I chose to brush them OFF completely and start anew. My friend sort of told me 'moving on is NOT about not
looking back' because he finds me skeptical. Whenever someone drops a 'disturbing' harsh line to me, I sometimes couldnt help but to be affected haha, anyway something for my new year's resolution then hehe. So at least this line from Ratatouille affirms my point. :)


3) Mouse trap
Remy was brought to a place with dead mice on mouse traps by this father, purpose of which is to let him see the real world and give up his dreams of being a chef.

'The world we live in belongs to the enemy, we must live carefully. We look out for our own kind. When all is said and done, we're all we've got'.
---It sounds positive to me. It shows the concern and unity of a family, a race. At the end of day, when the whole world turns its back on you, your family is all you've got.

Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.
---Everything is a matter of CHOICE. Decide for you own. I am a firm believer of 'kung gusto, may paraan'! :)



Funny scenes:
1) Remy's aroma scene
When Remy asks his brother Emil to take time to eat slowly and meditate, experience the aroma of strawberries combined with cheese, and then flashes the blissful smile. 'Now close your eyes, take a bite of this..' Really funny scene.

2) Cooking rats in the kitchen
The scene where a battallion of rats was preparing the food, there was this sanitizing heat cabin that cleanses them before they start cooking. Funny to see their hairs standing up and stiff.

So what's the effect of watching Ratatouille.. After watching the movie I decided to take my cooking prowess to the next level (haha feeling lng). I finally took the challenge of cooking a dish that I've always wanted to try but never really got
the inspiration to proceed. Crabs! I guess nobody in the right mind would think of buying crabs (i mean for my profile - my age, a supposedly busy overseas worker, etc). Viola, I was able to prepare 3 kinds, chilli crab, crab vermicelli and butter
garlic crab. :p I'll just blog about the last episode of my Food Lab next time. :)

It's Raining Cats and Dogs

I've been searching for pictures of cute kitties and doggies. Interesting images.


Image 1 - Sisterhood
This is so cute! I'm reminded of my kapatids hehe.


Image 2 - Sunbathing
Now I understand the advantage of being a human - tipid sa bathing suit. Imagine if we were created in the likeness of these creatures, we should be spending for 4 sets instead of 1!


Image 3 - Kung Fu fighting
Is this Bruce Lee? Jet Lee? Jacky Chan?


Image 4 - Sampayan
Beyonce in the house.. Can you keep up.. (baby boy) make me lose my breath.


Image 5 - Family Planning
The 9th+ unfortunate ones. How does a dog nurse a 9th, 10th, 11th.. baby doggie? They only have 8 slots for breastfeeding. First come first served?! Wawa naman!

zzZ zZz zzZ.. :)

The pictures below describe how I am during office hours.





Can't help it, so sleepy! Thank God I have petix office days to experience the luxury of being sleepy. :)

Go Korea!

I would love to see the setting of Winter Sonata and have my picture taken there!


First pic - Tree scene
I like the effect of this huge walkway sandwiched in 2 columns of big trees. Of course it will sure be better to have a guy (as gorgeous as byj) with me in this famous traditional bike scene. :)


Second pic - Snow scene
Snow snow snow.. I want to see snow!!! I like this scene with the small snowmen.. the couple and the kissing snowmen look so adorable. :)


Extra: Harry Potter edited pic.
Extra si Johnny from EL1. ang kulit! :)

Living with Other People

I didnt know living with other people is not an easy task. All my life, I have just lived with my family.

I've always considered hygiene as SOP. I've met people who don't take a bath everyday (sheesh). There are people who seem to be clean, but when I saw their toilet, grabe ang dumi ng bowl, (yun tipong matatakot kang gumamit uggh), o di kaya tons of unwashed plates that have been left for days in the kitchen sink. There are also people who are BURARA, as in walang isang salita, magulo at mahirap pakisamahan. At may mga mahilig rin mangialam ng buhay at gamit ng iba - the most annoying for me.

And oh for the first time, I encountered a group of ultimate OCs, neat frieks (intolerable to some extent). Here are some of their rules:
-You should mop the kichen floor everytime you use it.
-There shouldnt be any hint of garbage in the waste can at night before going to sleep, even if it's just some empty cans.
-You should not bang doors (bedroom) but have to close it slllowly.
-Drips of water outside the bathroom (from someone who has just taken a bath) is not acceptable.
-Changing of bedsheets every week.

Now I slowly get to understand why the Western culture has 'live-in' practices. You really get to know a person very very well once you live in the same house. It's so easy to put up a decent, jolly, and pleasant disposition/image in few hours of gimiks or dates. Even in the Philippines, there are people who practice 'live-in', but that's usually for reasons of convenience ehem. But no, I'm not promoting 'live-in' at all. :)

the key: compromise, adjust, and lots of patience... which is so much easier said than done :)

Raising Children

Whenever I encounter really naughty kids, napapaisip ako. Raising children is a huge responsibility and is getting complicated nowadays. The way a person behaves reflects the upbring he has. Perhaps tumatanda na ako kaya ko napapansin to hehe.

In some households, there are rules like:
1. no tv on weeknights
2. lights off (sleeping time) before 9-10pm
3. no bf at schooling age
4. no sleepovers for outings, or even for college thesis nights
5. no hairlength beyond shoulder length - this is crazy!
6. no eating of street food (fishballs, dirty ice cream, etc)

Crap! All of these I did NOT have, that's a serious statement! Even without those rules, I think I grew up pretty much normal hehe.

Spoiled brats are commonplace (lalo na in pampered Fil-Chi households). I've seen how kids make a 'show' in toystores when their parents refuse to buy their favorite toys. Yun tipong uupo sa sahig at papadyak. Then the kid wins and takes home the toys. After one week, most probably the toys have been 'massacred', yun tipong sira-sira na at nakatapon kung saan-saan sa bahay. They hardly know the value of money, hindi maingat sa gamit.

I remember my parents didnt attend a single PTS (parent-teacher seminar) event in my school before. PTS in my HS actually looks more like a chika-chika and sipsip session to me. Society says school and family should work hand-in-hand to promote the well-being of a child, but probably in my case, I can consider them as two separate entities.

Back in school my grades were somewhat good. (hindi ko na rin maalala bkit ako naging masipag hehe) People used to think I have strict parents at home who force me to study hard and be in honor roll. Hehe I dont, at all. They dont really care to check my grades. I remember my mom would persuade me to sleep when she spots me studying at 11pm for college exams. --- hehe the other way around.

And probably in my time, i can comprehend the lack of time of parents to their children because of work. It's just as simple as someone needs to earn money to provide for everyday needs. As the world gets complicated, so the evolution of several sickness, the popular ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I'm not saying that parents have the excuse to leave the children to yayas, it's just that kids nowadays are getting too vulnerable, and I also dont know what the cause is either.

I think probably one of the biggest factors is how you nurture the firstborn. If the eldest is matino, chances are the succeeding ones will just follow. Not applicable all the time.

During a bible study session, I was asked the question 'what is the most unreasonable rule that your parent has set for you?'. Isip ako nang isip, wala akong maisagot. I answered, 'parang wla, kasi sa amin, ang rule is more like makuha ka sa tingin, malaki ka na alam mo na dapat ano ang ginagawa mo'. :)

Actually it works for me that we were raised in a not-so-strict yet seems strict environment. It's hard to explain. Probably they entrust us the freedom to think and make decisions on our own. They trust me that I can handle myself. They trust me too much that probably it has gone to a deeper level, that it's my free will to keep that trust they have in me. :p

(Well I can still mess around if I really want to.. haha ooops)

I'm not saying that the way I was brought up is better than the others. Case to case basis. Perhaps if I got a kid like myself in the future, matatakot din ako hehe.

I dont know any secret formula in raising kids. But there's just one thing I think everyone should at least know - kung ano mang balak mong gawin, panindigan mo. :)

Rants (Again) ?

I still remember those days in my previous company, where almost everyone has their own fair share of rants hehe. That I guess is still acceptable to some extent. (pakwento na lng kayo sa mga taong naiwan dun :p)

After I move here, I was surprized to see a few people with so much rants again.. (which I actually find senseless)

And this time, these people are complaining about boredom! That's it, just boredom. 'Walang magawa dito sa SG, puro mall lng' - bukambibig nila. Well SG is actually a small place, I read somewhere in a magazine that it's 1/8 the size of Cebu.

Philippines is a big country, but I dont think you get to tour each of the 7107 islands every weekend right.

They complain about the small salaries in Manila, about insufficient work-life balance.. so probably here are their criteria for working abroad:
-**high salary
-**cheap airfare for frequent vacation trips to Manila
-safe/decent environment
-low tax
-low cost of living
-better lifestyle/quality of life
-a big place for weekend out of town trips

I really feel like knocking them in the head and telling them:
'You idiots, there's no perfect place in this world. You probably should go back and relearn that there's such word as TRADE-OFF. You can't get the best of everything. You yourself are not perfect enough and do not deserve a perfect spot in this world.'

Dont take me wrong, I'm not a big fan nor promoter of SG. Even I still can't picture myself settling down in this country. Let's say that I'm just being fair. And as one of my favorite lines goes 'Everything is a choice'. Being bored is a choice. Tulungan mo ang sarili mo. Find things to do and stop being a loser. And besides, if you feel so strongly about SG being so small that can't provide you with weekend out-of-town trips, then shell out money and go to nearby countries.

Hehe it's been long since I've written an entry with emotions. I just got ticked off by these people who dont know how to be thankful for what they're getting, and worse they tend to overgeneralize that eveyone is like them too.

Skin and Hair Care Essentials

Gosh, I didnt notice that my collection of maintenance stuff has reached this much hehe. I used to have only some basic stuff. Seems like there is an overflowing variety of such products here.





3 Recent 'Indulgence': (new discovery)
***Facial masks! - for rejuvenating effect (daw).

***Milk products - Anything with milk is good. Pyschologically, i feel that such products have moisturizing and whitening effect because of milk content, but actually not proven hehe. Milk bath, milk shampoo, milk conditioner, milk lotions, go!

Others: I also like hair treatment creams (ala diy hot-oil for home use), I've also started trying eye cream stuff. Hehe I dont know kelan mauubos, nawili ata sa pagbili naparami. :))

Tip: Normally, once a woman reaches mid-20s, she'd feel guilty if she doesnt apply anything, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. :))) Age gracefully right? :)

Highly Recommended: The Letter by Park Shin Yang

The first time I saw Park Shin Yang's TV appearance was in the soap 'Try to snatch my Heart' in Phoenix Channel, sometime highschool days. (See I've been watching koreanovela way way back before the koreanovela mania started) Funny, I and my sisters were commenting, 'grabe pwede na plang pang-artista ang ganon sa Korea'. He played the role of a doctor, looked so plain with the geeky glasses on. The soap was a so-so one.

Yet, he is also the cause I got myself so teary-eyed for the first-time in watching a movie. 'The Letter'. My sister and I accidentally chanced upon this movie in Arirang TV (sometime college days). I didnt expect too much, but the theme is overwhelmingly touching.

It talks of a newly-wed couple who loves each other so much. Then one day the guy was diagnosed with cancer with a few months left on his life. It was obviously a shock for both of them. Somehow in the corners of her mind, the wife wanted to commit suicide once after her husband dies to join him in his journey, and somehow the guy sensed it and confronted her not to do so.

Then the guy died, the wife mourned. Suddenly the wife kept on receiving letter from him day after day. The twist of this movie, it actually has a slightly frieky suspense-like element. The wife didnt know where the letters were coming from. Was it the guy is still alive, or was it the ghost is after her. The contents of the letters were encouraging, sweet, and talked about their moments together (flashback styles). It somehow gave the wife a reason to stay alive, as she looked forward getting her letters from the mailman every morning.

Then after like 2 weeks or 10 letters (cant remember exactly), the wife received a video tape instead. The guy video-taped himself and explained what is happening. He looked so haggard, already bald with a cap (typical chemo patient), dark undereye cirles, pale lips. When he was struggling hard and feeling his end days were near, he managed to keep on writing letters and made arrangement with the postal company for the schedules of delivery, so that his wife will receive these letters once he dies. He knew that his wife would be left lonely and nowhere to go, weak and devastated. He planned all these to help her get through the agony. There was a scene in the tape that made a big impression on me. While the tape was running, he got a phone call from his wife leaving some voice message, and he cried so much after listening to the voicemail, saying that even he has a hard time leaving her. There were several heart-warming dialogues that I actually cant quite remember now. But I do remember cleary, tagaktak-luha ako nun. I cant control it, tears just kept falling down naturally. Probably it helps that I havent heard any feedbacks and doesnt have any expectations at all on this movie while watching it.

It doesnt seem like a high-budget movie, but cinematography's good and acting is superb! 2 thumbs Up for a movie with so much HEART in it.

P.S. No offense, walang sinabi ang The Notebook d2 - The Notebook has always been regarded as a movie that made a lot of people cry, somehow I wasnt moved while watching it. Probably my standards for a 'crying' movie has risen a bit after watching The Letters.

Can someone help find me a copy?! This was filmed 10 years ago (ang tagal na pla). I wonder if I would still be moved watching it again. I cant even search for a decent picture in the net! Ganon ata ka-rare or kakonti ang nakakaappreciate nito. :)

Synopsis from net: http://www.parkshinyang.com/English/film/film.php

An Unforgettable Love
With the tag line, “a tear-jerking melodrama”, the film pulled a record-breaking 770-thousand viewers in 1997. Park Shin-yang plays a man working in an arboretum as a tree specialist who bumps into a Korean academic at a train station. She drops her wallet while running to catch a train and, when he retrieves it for her, it leads to the start of a romantic love affair. Willing to do anything for his love, he promises to be with her forever. But shortly after they marry, he is diagnosed with a fatal disease and dies, leaving his love on her own. But letters start arriving from her lover just as she starts to think there is no point to life without her husband.

Innocent Purity
Park Shin-yang encapsulated the endless gentleness and purity of one man’s love in this film that had audiences reaching for boxes of tissues. The movie became famous in Korea for a sentimental scene focusing on the dying husband’s video-taped message to his wife in which the character reads a poem. Park Shin-yang received the Popularity Award at the 34th Baek-Sang (White Elephant) Art Award and the Best New Male Actor Award at the 18th Film Critics Award among others, reserving him a spot among the nation’s best-loved actors.

All About Park Shin Yang

Park Shin Yang, for me, is a guarantee of quality Korean shows, or at least his acting skill is of a certain professional calibre. Thus, he is one of those not gorgeously-looking actors yet still can sustain my interest in watching a korean soap/movie.


When I got here, Lovers in Paris was being shown in TFC (sometime May). That was like shown in Manila 2 years ago! His acting there is great, I love his serious facial expressions while dropping his funny punchlines. Though I still dont like the ending, the artsy vague finish in this soap doesnt appeal that much to me.


Last July, I bought some koreanovela DVDs in Mla. I'm currently watching War of Money, one of the top soap opera hits in Korea this year. His character here is far far from LIP. It was a sort of tragic, funny and witty story. His parents died of big debts from loan sharks, he became so poor and hatred/revenge starts to pile up in his heart, so as his goal to earn much much money.

He was taken as a student of another loan shark master who taught him the tricks of loan-sharking, there unfolds funny encounters, financial banking/money laundering corporate scam and started the 'war of money'. Of course, a love-rectangle (is there such term?) added some sizzles to this soap. I am just halfway on this, but I would say worth my time.

Because of this blog entry, I found out more info about him with my research. I didnt know he has this much talents!

Park Shin-yang, a next-generation hallyu star, is a multi-talented person with works ranging from acting and singing to writing a novel and designing furniture for his drama or movie.

He debuted in the movie Yuri in 1996 which provided him his first award as Best New Male Actor at the 17th Blue Dragon Film Awards. He made numerous movies since then and with his performance earned him several awards like Popularity Award in the 34th Baek-Sang Art Award and the Best New Male Actor Award in the 18th Film Critics Award for the movie The Letter in 1997; Best Male Actor Award in the 7th Spring Film Festival and the Best Male Lead Actor and Most Popular Actor Award in the 19th Chung-Ryong (Blue Dragon) Film Festival for the movie The Promise in 1998 in which he played a warm-hearted gangster

In 2004, his popularity soared even higher after his role in the Korean drama Romance in Paris or Lovers in Paris with Kim Jung Eun. His performance in this drama earned him another award, the 2004 Brand Olympic Super Brand Male Actor. This drama also gave him inspiration to make his literary debut entitled Lovers published on the last quarter of 2005. This novel made Park Shin Yang the first Korean Wave actor to lead his popularity through literature.

It is also in Romance in Paris where his talents for design was showcased through the yellow sofa and desk used in the office stage set. His creative talents were also shown in his 2003 movie Uninvited Guests through the sofas used in the characters’ apartment.

He might not be a computer-savvy person but he launched his own website in three languages – Korean, English and Japanese – on 2005 to provide fans with a more convenient way to access his profile, gallery and updates regarding him, and a place for him to leave messages for his fans.

His latest drama under SBS War of Money, also known as Money Warfare, started airing mid-May 2007, has premiered with a high rating range of 16-17% and jumped off to above 24% for the second episode.