FiReWoRkS!!

12.18.10

I was in Manila to attend baby Jewel Merari's dedication and afterwards met up with my sister in her favorite coffee shop. We were at a mall and I knew they were gonna have a fireworks display at around 8 so I was surprised when at a little after 7, i noticed people scrambling outside all looking up so I knew it somehow started early. I grabbed my digicam since I haven't ever used it for fireworks and now's the best time to put it to the test so to say. Problem is, there were a bit of clustered small trees (we were in a sort of sky garden) and since I was late, all good spots had been taken. I had to balance myself on an outcropping of sort and started just snapping away, it was over almost immediately. Gaaahhh! my camera was lagging like crazy in between shots, 2-3 seconds really, probably because it was low on battery, and when you're trying to capture fireworks, up one second, gone the next, it made it as impossible as catching a falling star on cam, that is, if you even knew there would be one. So anyway, i tried to make do with what I have, I have only one decent shot really, so I had to use the most basic but often pleasantly surprising editing tool: cropping lol.

K-Movie: Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War.

video credit: zinnia112


Video Link (in HD!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL7ygTVJ0h8&feature=related.
CREDIT:wait4ba http://www.youtube.com/user/wait4ba

Synopsis:
In 1950, in South Korea, shoe-shiner Jin-tae Lee and his 18-year-old old student brother, Jin-seok Lee, form a poor but happy family with their mother, Jin-tae's fiancé Young-shin Kim, and her young sisters. Jin-tae and his mother are tough workers, who sacrifice themselves to send Jin-seok to the university. When North Korea invades the South, the family escapes to a relative's house in the country, but along their journey, Jin-seok is forced to join the army to fight in the front, and Jin-tae enlists too to protect his young brother. The commander promises Jin-tae that if he gets a medal he would release his brother, and Jin-tae becomes the braver soldier in the company. Along the bloody war between brothers, the relationship of Jin-seok with his older brother deteriorates leading to a dramatic and tragic end.


Credit: asiatorrents.com


My take:


ok, so i've been searching for this movie last year when a friend recommended it to me but I couldn't find a working video anywhere, so imagine my excitement when while searching for youtube clips of Mother (another Won Bin film), i found that someone uploaded the whole movie a few months ago, in HD glory! So i went ahead and loaded the clips and prepared myself to enjoy a really good movie.  Onset of the film, it was straightaway enthralling, so absorbed was i that i didn't realized i haven't turned on the cc cap yet and was watching the movie unsubbed til maybe about 4mins into it. A minute after, in fact even before the timer hits 5:00, I'm already crying..by half hour into the movie, am already letting out a stream of profanities..(which i sometimes do when the scene is too much too handle). Gosh! this is easily one of the best war movies ever made. In a nutshell, as posted in my FB:


"Platoon + Saving Private Ryan + 71:Into The Fire = Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War x 5. rating F: most number of F* uttered in a single movie. Best War Movie ever, and that's still an understatement (for me)"


On a side note, with what just happened lately between N. Korea and S. Korea, i think it's timely that both sides watch a film like this and be reminded that nobody ever wins in a war, NOBODY.


P.S.
After watching the film, i looked it up on wikipedia and discovered  it was directed by the same guy who did Shiri, a Korean movie i saw about a decade ago, when I was in college. It made such an impression on me that the one time I was on the same flight with some Koreans (who were here for religious purposes, this was when i was working already), I asked the one beside me what Shiri means, she then in turn asked her companions and that's how I found out it's a kind of fish. If you do spare the time to watch taegukgi, watch Shiri too, and then Mother. Oh, Won Bin, no wonder even celebs are crushing on you. such a great actor.^^

J-Movie: Nana (Live Action)

credit: XBanryuX


Synopsis:
Two girls, both named Nana and of the same age, coincidentally meet on a train trip to Tokyo. They soon find theirselves living with each other under the same roof because of an even bigger coincidence. Even though they share the same name and age, they differ in just about everything else. Even so, through hard experiences in love and life, a strong friendship is born between them, as both Nanas grow through their hardships and struggle to win the odds.
credit:  asianrice.tv


My take:  I was a bit apprehensive to watch this cos well, the synopsis doesn't really tell much, nothing intriguing there, but then it's got a fairly good rating of 3/5 stars so I said ok.  and it didn't disappoint, now i know not to ignore public ratings next time, lol. While the movie doesn't really have an intense high-and-low moment, or that feeling that every scene is building into a huge climax, it did have its really good, chills inducing moment. And my most fave scene ever, one I personally think is enough reason to watch the movie, is a live performance of the song above by the fictitious band Black Stones, you really have to watch the movie to appreciate how great the moment is. two words. goose bumps.

Tokyo Boy (東京少年, Tokyo Shounen)

TRAILER (sorry can't find an english subbed trailer)

credit: http://www.nipponcinema.com

FAN MV


video credit:  scrabbleface http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GPB9D5wLI&feature=related

Synopsis:

Minato is a young girl who was traumatized at a young age by being orphaned and left with her grandmother. She frequently corresponds with a pen-pal named Night, a boy about the same age as her that she's never actually seen in person. Although Minato and Night are very different - Minato is upbeat while Night is brooding, they get along anyway and she regularly updates him on the happenings in her daily life. Minato is even willing to confide in Night that she's falling in love with a boy she's recently met named Sho.

One day she wakes up and finds Sho acting extremely distant and tentative around her. She suspects Night may have something to do with this so she arranges to meet him at the mail box. However, he never shows. As it turns out Night is actually Minato's overprotective split personality and has been trying to drive Sho away by bullying him whenever he had control of her body.

credit: http://eiga.wikia.com

My take: 

less than a minute into the movie and i loved it. i really, really love how the movie opened with a black and white sequence. although, as usually the case is with Japanese movies, it's not for everyone's taste. I'm familiar with the phenomenon/medical case Multiple Split Personality Disorder but i had a hard time accepting that a 2nd personality can fall in love with the host. But i guess, love comes in different forms. I loved how the movie ended though. and the closing song Love Song by Mariko Hamada. Funny, this is the only movie I can say where my most favorite scenes are the opening and the closing. If you're a fan of Horikita Maki ( Nobuta Wo Produce), this is a must see. 


VIDEO LINK: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuvOyZfNYEM&feature=related 
credit: oXoBeatOfAngeloXo thanks for uploading the entire movie ^^

Death Note (live action movie,not the anime!)

video credit: treeapricot
SYNOPSIS:


Light Yagami is a university student who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that, if a humans name is written within it, that person will be killed. Light is initially skeptical of theDeath Note's authenticity, believing it is just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two criminals, Light is forced to admit that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of theDeath Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgment on criminals.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira" (derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a race to prove mental superiority between the two begins.

(Taken from Wiki) 


VIDEO LINKS (Make sure you have downloaded Veoh Web Player).


DEATH NOTE
http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/players/veohplayer.swf?permalinkId=v17395060WTazE6wN


DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME
http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/players/veohplayer.swf?permalinkId=v19334408249DHan4
DEATH NOTE: L CHANGE THE WORLD
http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/players/veohplayer.swf?permalinkId=v19334189QeCg4twd

Video Source: http://www.instantz.net

okay, so i stopped watching Asian horror/thriller movies sometime in 2005 simply because i've had too much of it. I was immensely enjoying them til i got a case of... am not quite sure what the term is..but you know when you really like a certain food and you eat nothing for a week but that food? then you lose your taste for it, right? I think that's what happened then. Wishing Stairs. Acacia. Doll Master. A Tale of Two Sisters (which gave me such a headache), etc.  If I'm not mistaken, the last one is (or the most memorable? since i remember it all too well and cannot recall any others after it) the movie Three. I was scared witless. Maybe it's because it was the last full show that night, and I was the only one in the cinema, and i remember by the 3rd story i was standing at the back with my back at the wall so I could see the entire cinema and see anyone approaching me (sooo paranoid!).


Soooo anyway, I decided to revisit this genre because of Ken'ichi Matsuyama. I loved him in Detroit Metal City (which reminds me I'm yet to blog about), i think he's such a great actor.. that I just had to see this movie. The movie's really entertaining, and it'll make you think and try to keep pace with the characters thought and actions, like try to stay ahead in the game (that's why I love FBI profiling) and L (Matsuyama) is like an Asian Sherlock Holmes here, a combination of Holmes' deductive reasoning and Dr. Reid's (Dr. Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds) genius and quirky nature. Am not sure about you but I haven't read one single comics of the manga so I can't make a comparison but If I may give my 2cents, skip the 3rd movie: L Change The World.

i tried really, really hard..

.... to refrain from posting about work here anymore and be all negative and whiny and all. i didn't want bad vibes here but. If say, you just stumbled into this blog by accident, remember this is a personal blog and works like an online diary for me. So i guess that allows me to say anything i want on how i feel about things at the moment. vent. rant. cuss. now, i may or no longer may feel the same way about this at the moment. notice the word "feel", this is all about what i feel and is not intended to badmouth a company or a particular person, hence, no name will be mentioned. 


      i lasted 4 long years, and i don't really feel like those are long years, in fact i can't believe it's been four years already. And there was a lot of times when thoughts of what-the-hell-am-i-doing-here, why-do-i-put-up-with-this-bs, so ^%#$& it's unbelievable. But when i think of the trade off: great workmates/friends, traffic-less commute, none of Manila's pollution, a nice enough apartment, i tell myself, its worth it. the lack of career growth opportunity, self-development, long-term benefits, a break-even pay, i kind of turned a blind eye on those things. The people i worked/studied with before, they're out there chasing after their dreams, but I decided to stay. I was happy. I was contented. and ok, maybe a bit lazy as well. But now, it's getting a bit of a challenge to continue looking the other way. I feel really,really sad that the situation is forcing me to rethink things. 


    I put up with a LOT of things. and believe me after being with a great company that offers great benefits ( on my 1st job), it's hard for me not to compare. I quit my 1st job cos the workload was crazy, just plain cutthroat, and also since I could afford to have a lower salary since my sister whom I was helping finish college financially already graduated... and decided to rest awhile while earning so that's the whole story on how i got into the call center industry. whew! seems like I've had a very long "rest". Now i remember reading about a US president who had a habit of making a list of benefits and disadvantages before making a decision (forgot who). I don't have a similar list yet, but i've been weighing things on my mind.


1. HMO - four years, and i could vaguely remember the last time we had medical insurance, 6mos at most. I swear it wasn't even from a reputable one, accredited hospitals are limited, doctors even, and i can't even have my parents covered  (no accredited hospital where they live, what's the point). and with the kind of work environment I'm in, working graveyard shifts, commuting at night, unbelievably undisciplined public/private drivers who can't seem to determine the difference between a highway and pedestrians lane/ side walks (come to think of it, are there proper pedestrian lane around here? maybe that's why some motorists take me by surprise sometimes, they're right behind me when I'm walking to the jeepney stop, one step to the side and I'm headed to the hospital, sans health card o-m-g.).I also remember this one time, i had a really bad tonsillitis and after getting myself checked with an E.E.N.T specialist (at my expense,to be refunded after several weeks), the doctor said it's the type that could lead to a heart disease and that I must have my tonsils removed. I do understand cases like it and i know some people who had theirs removed. I was so grief-stricken like I'd been sentenced to death. But ok, I'm willing to part with my tonsils if it means i don't have to worry about my heart. So the doctor gave me some papers to give our HR dept so we could schedule the operation. I went to the office, the person in charge's not in yet ( it's past 8am mind you) so this other office girl took note of my name, account, supervisor, and mobile number, on the forms. I called twice to make a follow up, and for some reason I could never get a hold of the person in charge. It's been weeks and I was feeling a lot better  so I decided what the heck! I'll just wait it (my throat) out and did not follow up anymore. I guess that sort of, saved my tonsils, tho am always panicky every time i feel a sore throat coming. But that experience left a really bad taste/feeling in my mouth, like losing trust that if something is gonna happen to me...


While I do appreciate our good co-employees from another department paying us a weekly visit when it's almost Christmas to distribute goodies like a piece of fruit or a bar of chocolate ( not being an ingrate here ) what I'm dying to see is for us to finally have a decent health card. cos these goodies just reminds me of the 2 kinds of charity - one that is convenient, and one that is lasting, canned goods vs livelihood to a poverty-stricken town. I'm fervently wishing for it not just for myself  but for my friends, my workmates. It's just so sad that as of the moment I'm not really seeing an effort or a solid plan to acquire one (if there is and we're just not privy to it, i'll be most happy to be proven wrong). so I guess my wish this Christmas is: Maxicare/Intellicare/Medicare card for everyone!! lol a girl can dream.


2. lack of regular evaluation of supervisors by agents - and vice versa.. well, we agents do get a sporadic coaching but the former gets none at all. in my old job, we evaluate each other all the time. in college, students evaluate their professors at the end of the semester. And I've seen how it worked so well for everyone. I mean, seriously,how can you expect to improve if you don't even have a friggin' idea how you're doing? we can't rely on hobnobbing with who's who every time, can we ( or am i just being naive)? cos it only works on one side of the spectrum. We're no longer kids so I don't think if we're made to evaluate a supervisor, that we're just gonna plain bash them. i'm all for constructive criticism.  I mean, i find it out-of-this-world-unbelievable,  this absence of performance appraisal and feedback tools..i don't know how the company managed to operate without it for so long. oh, wait.. i know! 


on a side note: I have met supervisors who really work hard tho and knows exactly how to deal with agents,  and I have great respect for them. It makes me wanna work hard as well cos it's kinda embarrassing not to. also, i wonder why there aren't a lot of leadership/management training for supervisors?  I mean like out of town or something. If they do, i wonder cos they're ALWAYS on the floor, which is expected though I'm sure it'll be a great help for them to take a breather sometimes and have one of those team building/trainings.


Now, i remember one question thrown at me when I was applying to transfer to another account. " You've been here for a few years now, why haven't you applied for a position?" And I gave some lame answer about how there wasn't an opening for a project i have enough knowledge about, and I don't wanna apply for an opening on an account i have zero knowledge on. but the truth is, i really only have this one life, and i don't wanna spend a portion of it kissing asses.


3. no bonus? - oh yeah, this is one of the things i missed the most. this and the following comparisons are like, just minor things, icings on a cake. The first two are what i feel so strongly about. It's just that it's Christmas time and I kinda envy my sister since she already got her Xmas bonus plus 13th month. Just last month, they got their 4th quarter bonus. Man, I'm missing mid- and year-end performance bonuses.


4. no career dev't seminars/trainings/workshops - again, icing on  a cake. can live without it but..


5. company financed p-r-o-p-e-r team building - team building in it's true sense, not some 1 hour brunch somewhere. That's not team building. Sports Fest or similar events? I've blogged about it before, ain't a pretty memory.


Oh well, that's all I can remember for now. Too much is going on at work lately, lot's of conflicting emotions.i really feel for my fellow workmates, and hence, I just had to write about this pronto or else suffer a chest pain and a bad temper later.