I unintentionally missed my NATSCI 2 class yesterday. Uninteresting story.

Some of my blockmates and I watched some gay films yesterday at the Film Center. In the afternoon, we watched short films, most of which I couldn’t grasp or understand. Some of the movies did not attempt to even make things clearer to the naive like me. The movie felt like it was asking for sympathy for the misunderstood gay community, but I could not completely sympathize. It was a waste of my fifty pesos.

After the short films, we were told that we had to leave the theater and enter it again, with another fifty-peso fare to watch Cheun Gwong Tsa Sit (Happy Together) by Wong Kar Wai, who won as Best Director at the Cannes in 1997 with the movie. It also starred Tony Leung, who was also awarded a Cannes last 2000 as Best Actor. Anyway, one of our block handlers has been raving about Wong Kar Wai for weeks, so we just had to grab the opportunity to watch one of his films for the first time. I couldn’t care less if it was a gay film. Naive as I am, I’m still more open-minded than your regular boy next door.

The movie was about the tumultuous relationship of a gay couple from Hong Kong who’s trying, as difficult as it was, to reconcile while they were in Argentina. Actually, the film felt very artsy and experimental for me, so I couldn’t quite get a firm grasp on the story so here, I’ll just post a synopsis from a website:

Two gay ex-pat Hong Kongers, rancorous lovers, strand themselves in Argentina, taking on a variety of jobs after their break-up. The more grounded, and more dour, Lai Yiu-Fai (played in a landmark performance by Tony Leung) works first at a tango bar, before drifting on to other odd jobs; Ho Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) turns tricks. After a scrape, Po-Wing shacks up at Yiu-Fai’s and this attempt at cohabitation establishes the impossibility of reconciliation. A movie released in the year of the Handover, Happy Together unfolds on the other side of the globe from Hong Kong and is informed by such gravity. A story of failed tourism, Happy Together presents the idea of home as both haunting and long- gone.

from http://www.amamedia.org/movies/wong/happy_together.html

The cinematography was fresh and exceptional but, I couldn’t appreciate it as much as I wanted to. Maybe if I had taken up more film majors, or if I was less naive or if I was wiser or older. Or gay.

Bikoy’s rating: 7.5/10

Maraming salamat sa mga mga tapat na taong nagtatrabaho sa University Food Service sa Vinzons Hall dahil matapos ang isang oras nang hindi ko namamalayan na naiwanan ko pala ang mahalaga kong pitaka sa isang lamesa sa canteen, hindi pa rin ito nadekwat ng mga masasamang loob. Maraming maraming salamat!! Nakalimutan kong itanong ang mga pangalan nila, kaya bukas ko na lang siguro sila babalikan para pasalamatan pa. Matapos kong tumakbo nang matulin na parang baliw mula gym patungong waiting shed, at mangiyak-ngiyak sa jeep nang dahil sa kabagalan ng pagpapatakbo ng tsuper, kay laking ginhawa talaga sa pakiramdam!!

Ayun.

Nakapaglaro din kami sa PE 2 PhilGames, sa wakas! Pero hindi gaanong masaya ang uri ng laro namin ngayong araw.

Had lunch with my Eng10 classmate again. I was supposed to have PE class a few hours after lunch but I decided to cut it when the extension program registration at the College of Music took too long to accomplish. I was with Snap and we were supposed to take violin classes. But we were told that more than 90 people were already wait listed for violin classes. Wow, fat chance of getting an instructor and a timeslot with that. So, I took voice lessons instead. Now, don’t laugh. Every time I mentioned that to people the past few days, they gave me the same kind of snicker after expressing disbelief.

Spent almost all my Friday in school with Erik since we have the same sched. Our NatSci professor gave us a free cut, so we spent the next two hours roaming around, having lunch at Philcoa, and doing chores around UP. KAS1 lecture was as boring as ever. Which is sad because Philippine studies is supposed to be my forte. Oh well. After that, we had isaw again and then we hung out at the AS steps.

Today, we had our block picture taking, sponsored by the freshmen orientation committee. They told me to be in beach attire so I came to school in short shorts… Hm… Okay, nevermind. My blockmates also decided to come up with a second theme, so I was also told to bring rain wear. Which turned out to be a proper decision since rain started to pour in the middle of the morning. After having our pictures taken, we hung out at the entrance of Palma Hall while it rained outside.

I had my first driving lessons today. I drove a car for the first time!!! And along Commonwealth Avenue at that! I was really apprehensive and scared chicken! But eventually, fear wore out a little and I was able to get off my lesson in one piece.

Music products we offer are sure to meet your musical needs We offer a wide range of guitars, basses, amps etc..

The Film block had a media tour yesterday. Almost all of us in the block attended, though some only caught up in the afternoon part.

Anyway, the tour began at the Philippine Information Agency’s Motion Picture Laboratories. Man, I never thought film-making could involve so many chemical, manual and analog processes! I don’t want to do all that, having been accustomed to just having everything digital and processed with a home computer. Well, they did admit that their equipments and technologies are really obsolete. The laboratories reek of antiquity, you can just feel it eveywhere you go. But then, it’s alright I guess. I guess it’d come in handy to study the old processes too. We’re not yet on our majors, so Ididn’t listen too much to the tour lady because she was talking about things I didn’t understand at all. I am not fond of chemistry.

PIA is where many of the government’s propaganda is produced, by the way. And the whole place was filled with different posters of Gloria Arroyo. If I had a little more reasons to be angry and dissatisfied, and if I was a little less restrained, I could’ve went on a rampage, tearing everything off the walls. But I’m not, so good for me. Haha.

After the long PIA tour, we all had lunch at Mang Jimmy’s in Balara. What can I say… when you’re a big group, go there! The servings of rice are only limited to how much you can store in your belly. We had 25 orders of viands so they gave us 6 more for free. So that’s 31. We were thirty-one. So that was one serving of ulam for each one of us. And all the rice we can eat! We were bloated like hell! The bill was only about 2,600, and considering the number of people in our group, we only had to pay a little more than 80 pesos each. Sulit!

A tour of GMA 7 proceeded lunch. Our tour started with a visit to DWLS 97.1 Campus Radio. We went to the jockeys’ booth while they were on air, and it was cool. We were talking with them while they were off-air (while the songs were playing), and even while they were on-air. Hm, what else can I say. I don’t think I can be a DJ. I mean, I was observing the two DJ’s conversing with each other, and I can’t possibly think of interesting things to say that fast, or even talk that fast for that matter! I can’t be a DJ! But that’s okay.

Next, we went to the Newsroom. We bumped into some TV journalists like Jessica Soho and Kara David, and some field reporters I didn’t know. Yes, it is my dream job to be a TV journalist, gathering stories from across the country and around the world. Sigh, I wish.

Then, we went studio-hopping. Studio 1 hosts the two main newscasts of the network, while Studio 2 hosts Unang Hirit and Flash Report. We were hugely amused with seeing ourselves on off-air TV with the Flash Report banner in the monitor! We even kind of disturbed a live airing of Flash Report because we were too busy making fun of ourselves in front of the camera with the chrome wall behind us, to notice that the news anchor had been waiting for us to move out of her ’stage’.

Lastly, we ended up at Studio 3 for the taping of next Monday’s episode of Sis. I’m sorry, but it was such a boring talk show. The topic was about magicians and circus acrobats. But seeing how a boring talk show episode like this required a lot of preparations made me appreciate it a little more than I would normally have. Anyway, watch Sis on Monday and you might see me in one of those audience close-ups after the usual ‘we will pause for a commercial break‘, waving like mad instead of clapping and screaming, Siiiiiiis!!, like we were supposed to do.

We had dinner at Alex III with my uncle, aunt and cousins for Father’s Day last Sunday night. My cousins from the US are here for their vacation.

Monday started my third week of college. Classes went on as usual. I had lunch with Weisa, an English 10 classmate. After class, my blockmates and I had our last rehearsal for our whacky presentation for masscom freshie day. It was really funny that after about an hour of hilarious singing in the middle of the garden, it suddenly rained like hell and we had to scramble mad for shelter at the university theater to continue practicing.

Later that night, some of my blockmates and I decided to watch Scènes Intimes (Sex is Comedy) at the Film Center. The movie’s about a female director’s struggle to perfect a sex scene in her movie amidst having an actor who’s arrogant and demanding, an actress who acts like a corpse, an unsatisfying script that she wrote herself, and a couple of other factors she found annoying. I didn’t like the movie that much. I’m sorry, maybe it’s because I’m adolescent, but I couldn’t sympathize with the struggle. I can’t figure out for myself how one sex scene can be that difficult. I can’t get how the guy can have so many qualms about doing it. Haha. The screening was well attended, by the way. It was probably the title that drew the crowd.

Today, I skipped my afternoon KAS 1 class to attend the freshie day program at CMC. All the masscom orgs presented AVRs and performances. There were free candies everywhere because all the masscom orgs had recruitment booths too. I already have a couple of orgs in mind that I’d be interested at joining. Later that afternoon, we also got to present our presentation. It didn’t go as well as planned. It was hilarious, and the crowd laughed, but not as heartily as I expected. It was kind of forgettable even. Now I can’t decide if I should call that fortunate or not.

Bikoy’s rating: 4.5/10

I spent my break with Erik last Friday, since we have the same Friday schedule. After having lunch at Vinzon’s, we went to Abelardo Hall because I wanted to inquire about their extension program for the violin. Then we walked to Palma for our second class. We met Sarsi and her friends and we hung out for a while at the west wing stairs. After our drudging KAS 1 class, we headed to Ilang-Ilang for isaw. Then we went to Plaridel and waited for Erik’s mom to pick him up.

Upon getting to be by myself again, I went off to the garden near the lagoon to meet my blockmates for practice (while eating binatog). Practice was really hilarious and tiring. Emphasis on hilarious. I don’t really care if I look queer and silly with our whacky presentation. I am used to losing my sense of dignity on stage anyway. You can just wish you’re a masscom freshman to see me. Which most of you aren’t. HAHA! We were so thirsty afterwards that we forced a canteen at the College of Music to sell us water even if they were closing down already.

That night, some of my blockmates and I decided to watch Papogi, a docufilm about the imaging and packaging of Philippine presidents, at the Film Center. Not for any academic reasons whatsoever, we just wanted to have our first time experience at watching something at the Film Center. It was free admission anyway.