Daydreamer

Seriously, I am getting so tired of all the Jessica Sanchez fans out there who are so bitter about her not winning. I’m a Jessica fan too and proud that someone of her young age and that a fellow Filipina has achieved such greatness and honor in the society she wants to be recognized in, but I’m not one to go about posting nasty stuff about Philip Philipps, the winner of this season’s American Idol and say he’s not worthy of it, because, guess what people, he is.

There was one comment given by my sister that has stuck with me on how to see the two finalists, given the situation of how people responded to the turn-out; Jessica is a performer, Philip is an artist. And I completely agree with this, because it was evidently shown in the competition. Jessica is an amazing singer with incredible vocal range and she can interpret songs very well, while Philip is someone who knew what he wanted to be defined as the minute he auditioned for the competition. He didn’t want to be defined by the song that he was covering for the week, but he wanted to be recognized by his own vocal talent; which is why he would put twists on it and mess with the melody a little bit. 

I respect the outcome of who won, ‘cause let’s face it; they’re both really talented and either of them deserve the title. People should just learn to do the same.

This Summer, I attended RAW (Raising Awareness Through Creativity), my org’s 2012 Summer workshop. As part of the workshop or training, I should say, we were formed into groups and asked to concoct outputs. 

This in particular was for our value ad, which is required to only last for 30 seconds to 1 minute, however, we had so much footage that were just a waste for me not to use, I decided to edit a full version. Haha. 

It was so much fun to do this. Hope you guys, enjoy!

Oh! I think I forgot to put her name on the credits, Lui Banta! I’m so sorry. Just like everyone in the group, she played a huge part in our output. :)

This year, me and my family went to Palm Beach Resort at Batangas for our annual family outing.

The place was gorgeous. They didn’t have a very nice shoreline but there were other amenities that took away the people’s attention from it. They had an infinity pool for one, they had water sports gear such as; the banana boat ride, the jet ski and the kayaks. 

I will never forget the stench of that life-vest I was wearing. The Body Odor radiating from it was just… ajnfkdsla. But it was fun kayaking. Haha. There would be times that I would row by myself because my dad would suddenly stop without me knowing. 

Their food was great too. Every meal was a buffet (considering that we had to pay 1400 per head) which was something significant for us. Haha. 

Our room was really cozy, as well. It really had the aura of relaxation and peacefulness that made us want to curl up on the bed, most of the time. Plus, it had a balcony. 

They also had these quaint gazeebos outside of our rooms, also right in front of the beach where, if you weren’t in the mood to go swimming or sunbathe, you can just chill in. 

All in all, it was a fun vacation despite the mishaps that we experienced on the way there. 

As you can see, I’m bored and just decided to make a list of my favorite movies. Haha. These are the movies that I never get tired of and, no matter how many times I watch, I still feel like I’m watching it for the first time. They aren’t necessarily in order of which I like the most, just in the order of which one popped into my brain first. HAHA. 

1. Step Up 3

Out of all the movies in the series, this has been my favorite so far. (although, I’m thinking that once I see the next one in the series, I would say otherwise) It’s the most modern and had super creative concepts put into the dances performed, including the training sessions and random battles in some scenes. I didn’t really see that much chemistry in the two leads and there were some mistakes here and there, however, I found I did see it in the supporting couple, played by Adam G. Sevani and Alyson Stoner and it was their story that kept me tuned in; also, because I could relate to “Moose” (Sevani) and his struggles with letting dance go and trying to be practical. I would bet too that a ton of dancers could relate to him in the same way.

Hands down, I believe that the people part of this production are some of the worlds best dancers and I really can’t wait for more.

2. The Ugly Truth

 

This movie is really funny. No joke. I love the humor of the whole plot; men focusing on looks, women focusing on credentials in relationships or in looking for someone to be with. HAHA. In a way, it’s a very realistic movie, but of course it still had that little cliche to attract the audience. 

3. A Walk To Remember

This is seriously the first Nicholas Sparks movie I saw, growing up. It has one of the sweetest plots and again, the realistic yet cliche factor which I really love. There were also so many quotes you can get off of it, which people still quote up to now. This made such a big smash in the box office during the time it came out and has become a trademark on the film industry and I really find it timeless.

4. High School Musical 3

Now, you may think that I’m lame because I love this movie, but whatever. I still love it. I love how it portrayed high school life. I actually watched this during the summer before I went into my senior year, so it really helped me cherish my last year. And like them, after i graduated I felt a deep appreciation and nostalgia for my high school life. It’s a really nice feel good movie. 

5. 500 Days of Summer

This movie is categorized as a “Romantic Comedy”, however, I don’t see it that way. At the beginning of the film, we were already warned that this movie would not have a happy ending… and that is what made me like this movie so much. It is rare for people to make movies that don’t have a “happily ever after”; it’s more realistic and more raw. I mean, what better to see on-screen than the reality of life?

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, but out of all the movies, the last is my favorite (followed by Goblet of Fire). I personally wasn’t able to read the book but according to most people who did, it was done very well and remained as close to the book as possible. I cried upon realizing how things fell into place for Harry even as a child and, like Harry, this movie made me appreciate Snape as a person, whereas before, I used to think of him as a vile being. It was a good eyeopener; that people are not always how they seem.

7. A Cinderella Story

 

This is my favorite modern version of the cliched fairy tale. I remember watching this movie every day after school once I got home, because I was so obsessed at how amazingly cute they put a modern twist on this story. It had the right amount of fluff and drama to keep the audience fully entertained throughout the entire film. Love this movie. 

8. Avengers

I’m not a comic book fan or anything, but this movie is truly one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It had great action and tons of opportune humor; things that make an amazing feature film. Also, the cast was impeccable; I can actually see them as the characters they were chosen to portray. This, I can tell is the start of a great movie franchise. 

9. Hunger Games

Has action, a different kind of drama and an almost-love story. What more could you want? Suzanne Collins did an awesome job with the book, along with the screenplay. Awesome.

10. The Little Mermaid

This is my favorite among the Disney Classics and up to now, every time I watch this, I feel like a kid who still believes in fairytales. 

I woke up today with a bit of sad news; my favorite author on Fictionpress decided to take down her stories due to several occasions of plagiarism. 

I stumbled upon her stories a little over 2 years ago and I immediately fell in love with them. I started with Love Game, which was the beginning of her Masterson Series. I loved how different the plot was and how cliche, yet unique her characters were and by the end of it, I just wanted more. And so, I read and read and read, until I finished all of her stories, one-shots, twenty chapters, all of it. And with every new story I finished, I just grew to love her and her imagination more. I wanted to let her know how much I appreciate her taking the time to write those stories and share her ideas with the world, so I made a Formspring to get in touch with her. 

It was there where I found out that she was a Filipino, which added to the love I already had for her, ‘cause I’m a Filipino too! It made me so proud to see a “ka-bayan” who has gained the rightfully earned fame and credit for something she has really put her heart on. 

It makes me sad to see her have to resort to taking down her posts because of plagiarism, but I understand how she feels. I know what it’s like to have someone want to take credit for something I made and did, so I understand.

I’m still dying to find out what happens to the characters she wasn’t able to shed much light on and those whose stories were left hanging a bit, but I wish her all the best and do hope that she doesn’t give up on her writing. :) 

This is the story of my life today. I really miss dancing. I feel so unfit and fat now-a-days ‘cause I don’t have it in my life as much as I want it to be. But I am going to keep my promise, that dance will never be far from me. I will keep it in my life. 

Alexandra S. Castillo

Lately, I’ve been having all these great ideas popping into my head; ideas like for new scripts and stories to write, but I haven’t gotten the motivation that would really push me into actually getting it down on paper… or in my case, MS Word. 

I know what I’m going to write and I know how I’m going to write it, it’s just…abdfkuabka gaaaah! Not motivated to really get it done. 

Ergo, I am what I call “constipated with inspiration”.

Must unclog this. asdfghjjkl. HAHAHA

Kalie with her PLDT “FEU” Vaccination Balloon! :))) Always such a cutie pie. Love you, Kalie! <3

This Mother’s Day, my family and I didn’t do anything that special but of course we treated her like a Queen for the day. HAHA

We had Blizzards and two Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen as a family, 

and me and my sister bought my mom new flats for her gift. She was very pleased with them, which was a “whew!” moment for me and my sister, ‘cause it took us so long to pick a gift out for her. HAHA.

We then went to my Grandmother’s house to celebrate Mother’s Day with her and the family, as well. However, things did not really go according to plan when we were there, yet it was what we expected to happen. At least, by the end of the day, our mom was still happy and she enjoyed the day. :)

I love you, Mommy! <3