Sweet (and Busy) November

It's such a busy and sweet November for me....

I came home more than two hours ago from watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. :-)

It was a movie date I had with my former classmate in graduate school who generously treated me earlier this evening. What's more, she even bought me a CD of one of the promising Pinoy bands and gave it to me (just as when I told her that I'm ready to burn myself a copy of it at home). Lucky me, indeed!

Watching the almost two hour and a half film was a great way of ending my very busy and long Friday. Well, I can't say it's the end of the week for me 'coz my forthcoming Saturday and Sunday are fully booked as well.... Church-related activities and family social occasions. ;-)

And hmm.... there are many things to look forward to in the coming days -- homecoming of my two sisters from abroad, my twin nephews' 7th birthday celebration (other birthday celebrants are my brother, sister, brother-in-law, some of my godchildren, & well-meaning friends), my eldest sister's wedding (alas!), my newest nephew's christening, my graduate school teaching in far-flung Subic, my forthcoming language lessons on Mandarin Chinese (or Spanish?) -- and yet, this question still lingers in my mind:

I wonder when's the next date I'll be watching this H.P. movie again?

Muggle Me and Harry's Poster at Warner Bros Studio, L.A.

The HARRY in my Life

I'll be watching you soon....

Yesterday, the fourth book movie in the Harry Potter series opened to theaters worldwide. A self-confessed H.P. fanatic, I told myself not to watch the movie on its first day of showing. I can wait until Friday comes.... lucky to be treated by my former classmate in graduate school. Hehe. :-D

And besides, I know that just like the previous Potter movies, I will be watching it in the big screen more than once. Although I haven't figured out my next movie date, it would be with my three nephews and with my significant other.... all the five of us. Last year was quite a blast, I can vividly recall. I treated all my Pinas pamangkins (3 nephews + 3 nieces) and my eldest sister to the H.P. and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So you can just imagine my sister and I watching the almost three-hour movie along with six gregarious kids (ages 5-10) inside the theater's dark halls. I wonder when would I ever do that again.... hmm, perhaps when these kids get a little bit older.... say, wait for the seventh and last installment of the H.P. series. By that time, my newest born nephew, Elijah Paul, will be three years old (that's assuming Book 7 will be shown by 2008) and maybe I can tag him along to join us, too.

Meantime, maybe I should finish reading the fifth book (H.P. and the Order of the Phoenix) that's been with me since last year.... Hence, I can finally move on to my very memorable Book 6 (H.P. and the Half-Blood Prince) which I acquired at the strike of midnight of July 16 in Washington, D.C.

Here are some of the photos I took right after claiming my latest H.P. book at Books A Million located at Dupont Circle (bookstore's right across Jury's Hotel where we stayed for a week in DC!)....

Muggle Crews Busy at the Counter

Queuing Fellow H.P. Fanatics

A Welcome Sight at the Bookstore Entrance

Books A Million @ Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.

Domesticated Daughter Thanks Her Parents

It's the start of the week and I feel so domesticated today. Finally, my room experienced its much-awaited general cleaning it so rightfully deserves! I have yet to finish the rest of my cleaning tasks by tomorrow. Finishing almost two rolls of bathroom tissue while doing the chores, I guess, is enough. It's proven and tested.... I wouldn't stop sneezing with all that dust around me! :-(

Cleaning my room (and uncluttering my stuffs) is my Mom's greatest desire ever since I came back from that US trip. But of course, she was the one who initiated/motivated/forced me to finally get down into business.

Dad and I went to the service center to have my car aircon checked after lunch. I've been driving sans aircon for the past three months now (well, it was already bad even before I left for the US last June) and I didn't mind it at all.... for all it's worth, it meant less consumption of gasoline. The downside though of driving without aircon, there were times I'd get so humid and sweaty.... Thus, I am thankful to my friendly anahaw fan who'd keep me company while on the road.

After hours of spending time at the car shop, finally the aircon was revived. I am lucky that my Dad was generous enough to pay for the whole thing.... I wonder if that was already his belated Birthday and advanced Christmas presents for me? Hmm, not bad. Thank you, father dear! :-)

As we reached home, my Mom has started to clear my room of my glorious clutter. She's just an expert when it comes to cleaning possibly everything she can! But she knows me, I wouldn't want anyone to just throw away my stuffs.... so with that, she'd leave them to me. It's always a nice way for her to get me started on things. And as always, mother dear was successful in doing so. Appreciate it, Mommy! :-)

And oh, it's time to get some rest to an almost completely clean room.... But I think I should be getting a quick shower before I sleep. Thanks to the accumulated dust and dirt I've had for the day, hehe.

Tomorrow's just another day, I know....

Remembering the Fulbrighters

I've been thinking of something to write today. It actually surprises me why suddenly I get so inspired to blog.... in two consecutive days at that!

Let's see what's randomly in my thoughts at the moment....

Oh, it has been five months already since I first experienced a taste of the "Land of the Free." I can vividly recall how I spent the 13th day of June attending our first session on the US Foreign Policy academic program. Apart from the welcome reception that was hosted for us the night before, that second Monday of June was our first official day of forging friendships and engaging ourselves into intellectually-stimulating exchanges. The Ms. Congeniality in me shone through as I easily made friends with my seventeen colleagues in the program.... Black, brown or white; short, medium or tall; male or female; young or old.... It didn't really matter at all. Imagine I am speaking of people coming from various cultures around the world.

Canoeing at Saluda River: Our First Outdoor Activity

Admittedly, I miss these new friends I have met five months ago. Being with them for six weeks was truly life-changing and an experience I would always cherish. Perhaps that is why, during our farewell banquet, I kept on holding back the tears wanting to fall from my "deep-set" eyes (haha, they have become such due to successive late nights!)....

Earlier today, I got an e-mail reply from one of my colleague-friends: that vivacious and intelligent lawyer from Jordan. I remember he was the tallest in our group.... and I happen to be the shortest (and who looked like the youngest, too!). I was worried about him and his family when I learned about the recent bombings in his country.... just as how worried I was for my Indian roommate & Pakistani colleague when a strong earthquake hit their countries (not to mention the bombings in New Delhi); same with the ongoing riots happening in Paris where our French guy (our "Mafia boss") in the group is.... and so on and so forth.

Alas, I can't help but wonder when would I see these seventeen wonderful people again.... Thanks to Ibrahim (my Jordanian friend), he mentioned about a possible reunion in his e-mail. The idea has since then kept lurking at the back of my mind. I wonder if the government of Uncle Sam would gladly finance us once more for such get-together in the future. Haha, dream on, Ms. Philippines!

Group Photo Inside the HART Senate Office Building:

Our First Formal Meeting in Washington, D.C.

But who knows, we might cross paths again.... I will definitely look forward to that day. :-)

Resurrection

Renaissance....Rebirth....Revival....Resurgence....Revitalization....

These are synonyms of this entry's title. I am thus resurrecting this blog after more than eight long months of hiatus.

I really don't know what propelled me to write once more and express myself in this form. Yes, the streetfighter in me is still very much in love and passionate about life. I have to admit though, that there are just times when boredom sets in and I wish there are better things for me to do. I guess I am just not used to being idle for so long....

Very soon, I'll be back to contributing to the formation of minds in the society. This time, they are not the typical teenagers I used to interact with for the past three years or so. They are much lesser in number; but I believe that they are more matured individuals already leading professional lives.

Unfortunately, we have to wait until the first Saturday of December to be able to meet personally. Social family occasions have already been set way before I agreed to give it a shot in teaching in graduate school.... From now until the first quarter of next year, I will be spending my entire Saturdays up North of the metropolis. Subic, Olongapo.... here I come!