Random Thoughts

This week (November 5 to 11) is Money Market Consciousness Week. I don't think the celebration of this event every year has yielded results. Too many people don't know and don't care what money market is. Even I, a person who studied business and is a practicing CPA, have only a vague idea of what money market is.

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A few weeks ago, there was an explosion in Glorietta 2, killing 11 persons and hurting more than a hundred. On that particular day, I was itching to go to Wade (which is above where the explosion happened). Days before the explosion, I was planning on a buying a new pair of shoes from Wade. On that particular day, my resolve to buy a new pair of shoes was even greater since the pair I was wearing on that day does not match my pants. And so I thought of going to Glorietta 2 during lunch time. Lucky for me, somehow I wasn't able to go. Or else, I would have been one of those six feet underground or one of those hurt.

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After months or even years of searching, I finally found a copy of The Hours in pirated DVD. I also found a copy of Magnolia, The History of the World Part I (by Mel Brooks) and Cashback (starring Sean Biggerstaff).

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After having a copy of Blue Velvet for quite sometime, I finally was able to watch it. It was ok. I like Mulholland Drive better. Kyle Maclachlan was very young in Blue Velvet. Isabella Rosellini (the daughter of the Swedish Ingrid Bergman and Italian director Roberto Rosellini) seems to look today the way she did in that movie.

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I also watch Death Proof and Planet Terror (yes, separately and not the Grindhouse film). Death Proof, as Roger Ebert put it, has some very exciting chase scenes but very long periods of dialogues where nothing seems to be happening. Planet Terror, considered by many as the inferior one, is better since it's something is happening all throughout the entire length of the movie.

The two films definitely capture the feel of b-movies, with all the scratches, jumps and even the burning of the film stock being shown.

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For the nth time, I watched Friends in DVD. I just love friends.

I love Phoebe who is "wonderfully weird" but I can relate very much to Ross who is geeky and knows a lot of things and trivia.

I just love the wedding of Phoebe. It was sooo romantic, with the falling snow and with her friend (who hasn't taken a bath for years and will only take bath when Tibet is free!) playing "Here, There and Everywhere" on steel drums.

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Mel Brooks film that I have:

1. Blazing Saddles

2. The History of the World Part I

3. High Anxiety

4. Twelve Chairs

5. The Producers - 2006 (produced by Mel Brooks)

6. Silent Movie

7. To be or not to be

8. Young Frankenstein.

I just love Mel Brooks.

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Q. Tarantino films that I have:

1. Kill Bill vol. 1

2. Kill Bill vol. 2

3. Reservoir Dogs

4. Pulp Fiction

5. Death Proof

6. Natural Born Killers (screenplay)

I have seen the first five and started on the sixth film. I stopped watching the last film since the film is violent ( as Tarantino films are) but lacks the direction of Oliver Stone lacks the style of Quentin Tarantino.

Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 are good and so is Pulp Fiction. Death Proof has some good parts but somehow I was bored through most of the other scenes. Reservoir Dogs, well, it is finely written but again, I was bored.

Tarantino is a good scriptwriter and a better director. But I believe he has to cut down on unnecessary dialogues that lengthen his films.

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I saw Goodfellas. The film looks like and feels like a diluted The Godfather. Well, some people say it is more realistic in its portrayal of crime organizations. I just find the length of the movie tiresome.

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Don't get me wrong, watching a long movie is fine with me.... as long as there is something to the length. As long as something is happening during the movie. Take for instance, Gone with the Wind and Doctor Zhivago, these films are really long but I was not bored since things are happening that pushes the movie along.

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Last November 1 was the date I first went to Glorietta after the explosion. I was still apprehensive. Something may still happen there. On that date, there were very few people in the mall. It seems like the old tradition of going to cemeteries is still alive.

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Films that I'd like to have a copy of:

Stanley Kubrick Films:

- Dr. Strangelove

- Paths of Glory

- The Shining

- That other Kubrick film (his second feature film)

D.W. Griffith's Intolerance

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Groundhog Day

Giuseppi Tornatore's Star Maker

Films of Federico Fellini

- 8 1/2

- La Dolce Vita

- Fellini's Satyricon

- Michaelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura

On Buying DVDs

ON BORAT

Last November 1, I went to Landmark and was surprised that DVDs which were previously selling at P299 or higher were on sale and were selling at P199. Of course I was enticed to buy some of the titles. I bought Bambi (which I have not yet seen), Toy Story 1 and 2 and A Bug's Life (which I have seen but I am collecting Pixar feature films, so I bought them anyway), and Borat.

I have a pirated DVD copy of Borat which doesn't work well so at P199, I thought why not buy the original. I have seen HMV copies of Borat in Makati Cinema Square and even bought one of these I think months ago (I eventually returned this since the the sound is not in English). Also, the writings on the cover of the copy that I bought is Greek or Russian. At that time when I bought (and returned) the pirated copy of Borat, an original copy of Borat was selling at Landmark for P550. Such a big difference.

Then, when I got home, I was excited and opened the Borat DVD. The DVD is in a DVD box with a "DVD jacket" that boasts of additional 30 or 60 minutes of previously unseen footage. Then, when I opened and removed the DVD jacket, I was surprised and very disappointed that the DVD cover on the box itself is written in the very same Greek or Russian. The disc itself is not printed with the Borat picture. Instead, it was like one of those discs you can buy in CDR King and other stores. The name "Borat" is just written in black marker, I think. When I played it on my DVD, it doesn't work. Well, my DVD players is kinda old and it doesn't read most DVDs the first time you put it in. I no longer tried it again and returned it to the box, thinking that I could replace it with a different DVD from Landmark. I even saved the tape receipt.

Yesterday (November 4), I went back to Landmark to exchange the DVD for a new title. The salesladies told me that the disc I bought was indeed like that. They also refused to exchange my disc citing that the disc I bought already have scratches and they don't change DVDs on the basis that I did not like the content of the disc.

Well, I guess the few scratches on the disc were my fault. However, I still believe that I have the right to return the DVD because the DVD jacket of the disc is in English and boasts of DVD features and the disc itself looks like pirated.

Since they refuse to exchange my disc for other titles, I was so frustrated and irritated that I couldn't help but blurt out "Dapat pirated na lang ang binili ko."

And yes, I am planning to buy pirated DVDs when I could and buy only original DVDs when I really like the title.

ON OPTICAL MEDIA BOARD AND QUALITY OF DVDs

Edu Manzano's Optical Media Board (OMB) frequently conducts raid on sellers of pirated DVDs. It is on the premise of intellectual property rights and that sellers of pirated DVDs are "stealing" from the copyright owners of these works. That, I can't refute. Copyright owners should be given due compensation for their work. However, due compensation as defined by these owners seem to be very expensive, especially for a country like the Philippines.

As I said, I understand the need for these war against piracy being waged by the OMB. It needs to protect the copyright owners from "robbers" who steal their work. However, I believe that the OMB should also ensure that consumers are being protected from businesses. If they are conducted raids to ensure that noone is stealing copyrighted works, I believe they should also be reviewing the quality of the "original" discs being released by film distributors.

On certain occasions, I have bought "original" DVDs which do not seem to be original. To all buyers of "original DVDs", avoid these:

1. The aforementioned Borat title
2. All foreign titles released by Viva where you can see at the back of the DVD cover the logo of Viva.

These so called original DVDs have quality that are so bad you'll feel like you're watching a VCD. For one, they are usually released in full screen. The quality of the picture is bad - as I said, something like the quality of VCD releases. And some have no subtitles.

It is sad to note that while the OMB, through the push of American distributors, are raiding pirated disc sellers, nothing is being done to protect the consumers.

It is also very sad and very frustrating that while the quality of pirated discs are ever improving (there are DVDs that are now sold with complete features) and their price going down, the quality of so-called "original" DVDs have not caught up. If film distributors, like Viva, want people to buy original DVDs, they should do something about the quality of their products. Furthermore, they should reduce the price of these DVDs even more.

REASONS WHY I BUY PIRATED DVDs

Like many other people, I have several reasons why I buy pirated DVDs.

1. Of course the price. Original DVDs generally cost P299. Pirated DVDs cost P60 or less.
2. The available titles. There are more (and I mean MORE) titles available on pirated DVDs than in original DVDs. For instance, I was able to buy very old titles like "Birth of a Nation", "M" and "Metropolis" in pirated DVDs. These titles are not available in original discs, at least not here in the Philippies.
3. And now because of the Borat incident, return and exchange policies. I have bought several defective DVDs and I was able to exchange them with their sellers. There was only one time that I wanted to exchange and original DVD and I was refused.

THE FUTURE OF PIRACY

I read an article in a magazine, either GQ, Vanity Fair or Details, about internet piracy in Sweden. The article talks about the prevalence of internet piracy and how it is affecting film companies in the US. No less than a leading officer of Disney was quoted as saying that piracy is a new business model and that film companies should be able to adapt to such model.

Here in the Philippines, internet piracy is not as prevalent as piracy through physical discs (mainly because of the underdeveloped internet infrastructure). I can say that pirated DVDs are here to stay.

As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

CHEERS!!!!

Housemate Hunting

I am hunting again for a housemate, though halfheartedly somehow.

I have been living in my apartment for more than three years now. And I don't want to move to a new place because: (1) I have a lot of stuff to move and that would be difficult; and (2) it's difficult to find a good place in makati. Besides, I've grown accustomed to that place.

Well, I started living there with two college friends. One of them moved out after less than a year and the other one moved out several months after. I stayed alone for about two or three months. then I had siblings for housemates. They were there for more than a year. Then they left and I was left alone again for two months, I think. Then my first housemate moved back in again, but she just left to go to UK to work.

And so here I am again, searching for a housemate.

My first housemates were ok. Well, why shouldn't they be? They were my friends and I can say that we had some good and memorable times at that apartment. Then the second set of housemates was not so fun. We hardly talk. We each have our own TV in our rooms so the common area became just a place we pass through on our way the CR or on our way out or when we come back from outside or when we wash the dishes and do some other routine stuff. Hell, we lived together for more than a year and we spoke only when it is the time of the month when we need to pay our rent. And even then, very laconically.

I am looking for a housemate who I can talk to. Friendly, accepts me for who I am (all my loud -watching, smoking habit, etc.). I am so bored out of my mind being alone that I need someone I can relate to and interact with.

Boredom

Here I am again... bored with my life and with no one to talk to. As Leah Salonga (as Eponine) sung:

And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near.... now I can live inside my head.

Well, luckyn for Eponine, she has someone to obsess about. AS for me, I am here, stuck with nothing to obsess about.

So here I am in an internet cafe at 11:30 in the evening, pouring my mind on this very impersonal thing. Lucky if someone would take the time to read my blogs.

And so the day began with me waking up at 10am. Nothing to do (I was supposed to go out with a friend the whole day, but I guess she is not that enthusiastic about going out today with me).

Watching TV the whole day, going to Puregold to buy that roasted chicken which doesn't tast that good, and watching the first half of Blue Velvet are all that I done today. I would've said accomplished but looking back, these are not really accomplishments. Just things I did.

Oh! And I washed the dishes which have been sitting there for a few days.

Well, I just wished I had the drive to go to work today and finish my work. I am so damn lazy these days (well, lazy at work for more than a year now).

Movies, Movies, Movies

Finally, I am happy that the website that I usually visit now has a forum for movie lovers. And by movie lovers I mean movie lovers. People who go the extra length and watch movies other than summer blockbusters and films that are lucky enough to be screened in cinemas here.

These people are the those who watch foreign language films, art house films, classics and even some trash movies.

I hope that sometime we can get together and have a movie marathon or something. Or just even watch movies in cinemas together. What a refreshing time that would be from watching movies on my own alone in my apartment.

Envy and complacency

I think all my life I have been complacent. Not that I didn't strive to excel. I did. I did.

Though I wouldn't call my life a walk in the park, it has not been hard either. It seems like everything worked on their own, studying from preschool to high school, getting in and finishing in the country's premier university, being a topnotcher in the board exam and getting work easily.

In all those years, it has been my determination to excel (for myself) and divine help that has got me through. And now, it seems my determination has gone. As if I no longer care whether I excel or not, whether I turn in mediocre work or the best work. I just want to get through everything.

I don't hate my life. I'm just bored with it.

But I'm too lazy to do anything about it. I think I have become too complacent with my life, have been used to things working out for me, have been accustomed to expecting the best (or at least good) things life has to offer.

At this time, many of my college batchmates are either in other countries (working there and getting paid a lot more money than what I receive), on their way to other countries (to work there and get paid a lot more money than what I receive), or are working here in the Philippines (and still getting a lot more money than what I receive). Am I envious of their life? I guess so.

Of course, hearing good news about a friend is always good. But when that good news is about something better than what you have, at the back of your mind you envy them. And I do envy them... a little.

Most of my life I have not measured how my life fared by comparing it to other people. I was mostly satisfied with what I get, with what I receive, with how I live. But then again, I have gotten and received things or lived better than others. And now, with people I know getting more than what I do and living better than I do, that makes things a little bit difficult for me and that somehow I am envious.

I guess these things that enters my mind and makes me depressed started a year or so ago. I was tired with work (not just physically but mentally, but then the mind makes my body tired). I couldn't/wouldn't want to go to work.

About two or three months ago, I met my college friends for the christening of the child of another friend. I think all of the guys and gals not in audit have their own car. Poor us who stayed in audit. We have to hitch rides.

Then, about two months ago, I learned that one of my bestfriends is going to London to work! I never expected that. I have always thought he'd stay and that he'd be a sure partner in our firm. Then, my bestfriend, whom I have always thought would stay as long as I am here in the Philippines, also announced that she'd be going to Jersey (Channel Islands) to work. Ok, it is understandable that people, auditors, would want to work abroad due to the great disparity in compensation. But I never expected that they'd move on while I'll be left behind.

Of course all this moving on found me in a flurry to apply abroad. I want to work abroad, not necessarily with them. But just so I won't be left behind. Alas, at the time I was desperate to go abroad, it was too late. Most of the accounting firms abroad have already found who they want to hire for the year. I will be left behind.

And yes, being left behind, when I was ahead of them at the start, is really depressing.

Ramblings on life

Ok, so I'm really bored with my life.

I wake up every morning (at least it's in the morning these days), watch some tv, then decide whether to go to work or not (except when I am forced to, like when I have a meeting with client), then take a shower, dress then endure the heat to go to work.

Then sometime at noon, I have to eat lunch then go back to work after.

Well, sometimes I don't do work, just search the sites that are not restricted by our IT group.

After office hours, I go to the apartment I rent, watch tv and/or watch some DVD. Most of the times, it would be either "Friends", which maybe I have seen several times, or a foreign language film (or an unknown English film or cult favorite).

Then, at around 10pm to 12mn, I have to go to sleep, either out of sleepiness or because I have to go to work early the following day.

And so my life goes......

I never expected my life to be like this. But, I never expected anything out of my life. Not that I don't care or value my life, it's just that I didn't plan ahead. Or I didn't have specific plans of what my life would be.

When I was in high school, I didn't know what to take up in college or where to go in college. That decision came only when I was in fourth year and the UP entrance exam was coming up.

Then in college, I didn't know where to work after passing the CPA entrance exam. I didn't even take into account the board exam at that time. Hmmm, well, I did want to go to Unilever or Procter&Gamble. But then, who didn't? I guess every guy and gal back in my college wanted to work there. Who wouldn't? They were there for every college event with CBA graduates flaunting (or at least sharing) good stories about their company. And then, you'd hear about how much you'd make when you work in those two companies. For a college student who lives on approximately P1500 per month, that would be a big step! But then again, working in those two companies are reserved for those who have shown leadership or "leadership" while in college. But then again, nevermind.

I decided to work in an auditing firm when I was reviewing for the board exam. I decided to work in a specific auditing firm after passing the exam. Three and a half years later, I am still here, in the auditing firm I chose.

I would like to say that I am here by choice - that I like the friendly atmostphere here, that working here is learning and that the pay is not that bad. The friendly atmosphere I guess is correct, people are cordial to each other and most people know your name. It is ironic, however, that I have made few friends (or at least friends who I care about or who cares about me, other than in the normal polite and curious way).

The learning stuff is true. I learn a lot of things here. Things about how companies work, etc. etc.

As for the pay, I guess it's not that bad. But I could get better. I was offered a position (accounting manager) by one of my clients for approximately twice what I earn now. I turned it down, saying that I like audit work and I may not be efficient doing other things. That is somehow true. But imagine how easier my financial life would have been.

I am burning down. Yes, burning down not burning up. It's worse than burning up. At least when you burn up you burn in a grand manner. Like a firework suddenly exploding in a profusion of colors. People watch and admire.

It seems like I'm burning in a way a candle is slowly being put out by the melted wax accumulating near the top, where the wax drowns out the wick that holds the fire. Slowly, and ever slowly, the fire dies down. People don't notice. They will not notice nor appreciate the slow dimming of the light. They won't know until all the fire's died down.