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The other day I went to Gilmore (and I know this is Gilmore because LRT 2 said so) and applied for my international driver's license.  A totally pointless thing to do I've been told, as MY philippine license is valid in the US for up to six months anyway.  BUT person-in-charge says I have to get one, so meh.

The whole thing was over pretty quick, so it really wasn't so bad.  Except for the fact that you hafta pay Php1,800 for the whole processing.  Potential shopping money lost!  There were only two windows to work on.  First window is where you submit your shit.  Second window is where you claim and pay for your license.

Ta-da!  My license!

which is better: hot pink hair, or as a locoroco?

*photos edited by teh boyfie <3

 

 

“I was born under unusual circumstances.”

And so begins “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: A man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. From New Orleans at the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, on a journey as unusual as any man’s life can be, the film tells the grand tale of a not so ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds and loses, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures Present A Kennedy/Marshall Production A David Fincher Film, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Tilda Swinton. The film is directed by David Fincher. The screenplay is by Eric Roth, with screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The producers are Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin.  The behind-the-scenes team is led by director of photography Claudio Miranda, production designer Donald Graham Burt, editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, and costume designer Jacqueline West. The music is by Alexandre Desplat.

I was one of the lucky people who got invites from Az to get tickets for the advance screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

 

Benjamin Button's many love

The movie has the same director as that of Se7en and Fight Club, and it's surprising how this movie seems to be their complete opposite.  It was full of picturesque sceneries, relaxing colors of yellows and browns, and beautiful people.  While there were no memorable lines to remember, the shots seemed to be perfect.  It was a story about Benjamin's life, how he dealt with growing backwards, and more specifically how other people in his life dealt with it.  It would be interesting to know how we deal with growing old, and dying.  The movie took its own sweet time showing these, almost three hours actually.

Lookie! It's Dakota Fanning's sister!

So now I have stupid question: did the Button family chose button-making as a family business because their last name is Button, or did they chose Button as a family name cos they want to make buttons?

 

For patron accounts, I've added one new feature: linkbacks. Any time a Tabulas user posts an entry that links to a particular entry of yours, you'll see it appear in the comment view of a page. This will help you discover who's talking about your entries on Tabulas, and it is a way to encourage you to link to other's posts as well!

I've also started processing Tabulas entries for the "Related" entries feature - for those of you who don't know, this is a magical feature which will try to find "related" entries that you've written. Sometimes it's accurate, sometimes it's not. But it's fun to see what entries will show up

Related entries are processed nightly, so you may have to wait a bit to get related entries. All patron account should have had their entries processed, though.

Been purging the bookshelf again for more books to giveaway (or sell, although, I've yet to see buyers).  I've already cut the book stuff in half last year.  But I'm still left with alot.  While there are a few books I will never ever give away, I do have some now that I'm willing to part with.

Hence, a book contest!

Some of these books are in really good condition (most are wrapped in plastic cover), while others are in a pretty bad shape (specifically The DaVinci Code) mainly cos I got them second hand that way.  No lost pages or anything that horrible though.

(The Book List)

Here are the rules:

1.  Pick any book you like from the list.

2.  Write in your blog why you want that book.

3.  Include in your blog post the words cigarette-girl with a link back to my site: http://cigarette-girl.com

4.  Leave the link to your post in the comment section, and your email address.

5.  Once somebody posted an entry for book A, I start counting 5 days, and if no else posts an entry for it, then it's yours.  If another person wants the book though, I check which one has a nicer entry and give it to the winner.

I have one condition though:  You have to be living in metro manila cos I'll just be handing you the book.  I'm too lazy to do postal.  Sorry.

I will inform the winner through email.  I'll be crossing-out books from the list as soon as somebody won it.  Contest will run all throughout the month of January until there are no books left or I'm gone, whichever comes first.

p.s. books with ♥ means that somebody wrote something about it already.

One of the bigger complaints I've gotten about the control panel redesign is the lack of accurate hit logging. To that end, I've added back one of the more popular features for patron accounts: viewing your recent visitor traffic logs.

Because of server limitations, you can only view your last 72 hours worth of data, but the data it provides should give you a better idea of where your traffic is coming from.

Check it out in your control panel.

 

[2:00am]

yay. its 2009!

paalam 2008. ang daming nangyaring namagitan sa ting dalawa may wish na natupad. (sa kin na lang yun) napakarami. kaya nga naiisip ko, maganda ang nakalipas na taon ko. baka eto na yung malas. parating na. jusko wag naman sana no. ituloy tuloy na natin. para masaya.

bye 2008.
hi 2009.

fish tayo.

    When I did my evaluation of 2007, my happy conclusion was that I tried getting out of my comfort zone. Patampisaw-tampisaw lang. Now that I look back in my 2008, I think that I did a pretty good job staying out of it.

    My two-month stay in Las Vegas taught me how to appreciate Filipino culture and Filipino people more. This was where I knew that I easily get angry when I see a Filipino kissing American ass for money. But what's worse than that was seeing Filipinos looking down on fellow Filipinos in order to get ahead. On a more positive note, my eyes were opened to the possibility of studying abroad. And I got to spend time with my father and my brother. Yun talaga yun.

    Running DREAM Team for Typhoon Frank was challenging and fulfilling.. I just got back from the States and I was lost in all the Sanggu work that were being done. There was a point that I was losing my drive, but when DREAM Team was given to me, I knew I was back. Hopefully, we won't be needing DREAM Team anymore for next school year. Mahirap mawalan ng tahanan.

    Going to Naga with Omi and Bocho to participate in the Buklod Atenista shook my whole notion of what it meant to be a servant-leader. I met some of the brightest (hindi lang academic-wise) minds that Ateneo has to offer. Very very very humbling experience. One of the summits I am looking forward to go to next school year. Sana mas marami ang makaranas ng naranasan ko sa Buklod.

    Probably the most painful decision I made this year was the most recent. I resigned from the political party that I belong to because I feel that my own beliefs are not in line with theirs anymore, and it would be a shame to use them for my own comfort when I run for the next Sanggunian elections. If staying out of my comfort zone were the basis of my year, this was the extreme definition of it.

    For 2009, I hope to give attention to my spiritual life (or lack of it). After a much hoped-for success of the ACP, it's pretty light for me in terms of workload. I just have to finish the 2nd semester right. I'll probably pursue a minor in Public Management, but I'll finalize that after ACP. As for my plans for Sanggu, I'm currently discerning which area to focus on for next year. Right now I'm leaning towards the Committee on Non-Academic Formation (CNAF), but of course, I must go through another tiring election period. Hopefully I can still be given the chance to be of service to my fellow Ateneans.

    And with that, I pray for a courageous heart this coming year.

P.S. I would have done the Year in Photos of 2008 like I did last year, but... abuhbuhbuhbuh