by HelloI’mJulia on Flickr

February 28, 2006

Last night’s dream was the usual and violent kind.

I dreamt about a woman who was arrested through an entrapment operation. She was an illegal recruiter and was arrested with a man she was having an affair with. She was married, but her husband was staying in the province.

However, her family asked the police that she be released and her punishment be left to them. To them, she will be punished not only for illegal recruitment, but for the greater crime: adultery.

Her family and husband decided to have her executed by the town elders. Before her execution, she was served with a lot of her favorite foods and her wish for a short videoke session with her friends was granted. Few hours later, she was executed.

My perspective was like that of the Pensieve in Harry Potter. It felt so real that I remember being so afraid that I didn’t actually “followed” the whole event and just “stayed” with the family inside the house. After several minutes, I peeked out the window and saw the executioner carrying bloody cleaver.

After that was a series of weird events of me being transported back to the city and receiving calls from my mom.

I woke up with a racing heartbeat and cold hands. I wasn’t able to go back to sleep until about 30 minutes later.

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by AXEHD on Flickr

July 13, 2010

Three young girls who appear to be in high school approached another young girl alone in a restaurant. They introduced themselves (using what I felt were fake names) and asked the girl if she’d like to be friends with them. After a few minutes of talking, one of the three girls offered to buy some drinks. While nobody was looking, she prepared to spike a drink.

I’ve been pretending that I’m unaware of the whole thing, but I’ve been actually watching them from my seat, several tables away from their group. I found it weird for a group of girls to hover over someone like that, so I kept watching them with a book under my nose for disguise.

Minutes after the unsuspecting girl drank the spiked drink, she fell asleep on the table. One of the three girls carried on with the conversation, saying how it’s funny that their companion would fall asleep at the restaurant. Under their table, I can see the girl next to the sleeping one pull a bag. She inspected the contents, then reached for a wallet and a cellphone. She nods at their two companions and they begin to leave.

I stood up to follow the three girls but I couldn’t determine which way they went. I asked someone from the restaurant to look after the girl and call a doctor, just to be sure she didn’t drink anything deadly.

After a few days, I encountered the three girls again, but that time, it seems like I was their next victim. They offered me a drink, which I accepted, but did not drink. When they seemed to look agitated and prodded me to take a sip from my drink, I decided to tell them that I know what they’ve been doing. Their eyes widened; they excused themselves and said they have to go home.

Days later, I encountered the girls again…but they seemed to be running from someone. I figured it was the police, and I was right. Details from this point is hazy, but all I remember is I helped them run and hide from the police and eventually became friends with them.

Then I woke up.

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Eiga Sai (literally “film festival”), an annual Contemporary Film Showing held by Japan Foundation, Manila together with Shangri-La Plaza Mall (EDSA) and UP Film Institute (Diliman), will open this July 1st with an invitational screening of Always Sunset on Third Street 2 at Shang Cineplex 4.

The much-awaited film festival also marks the start of the month-long celebration of Philippines-Japan Friendship Month. Screenings at Shangri-La Plaza Mall will be held until July 11. Other venues for Eiga Sai are Gaisano South City Mall in Davao (July 23 – 25), Ayala Center in Cebu (August 3 – 8), and UP Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City (August 18 – 21).

I have prepared synopses using various sources for the roster of films that will be showcased on Eiga Sai’s 12th year:

Always Sunset on Third Street 2 (Always zoku San-chome no yuhi, 2007)
Directed by Yamazaki Takashi

In this sequel of manga-based Always Sunset on Third Street, Takashi brings back viewers to the nostalgic Tokyo of the 1950s and continues the story of budding writer Ryunosuke Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka) and the residents of the “San-Chome” community.

Read the rest of this entry »

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KAPOK TREE

Nikon FE2 + Kodak Elitechrome 400 (Expired, Cross-Processed)

This is a kapok tree, also known as a Java cotton or Java kapok. I just found out that it’s an important symbol in Maya mythology, regarded as a sacred Tree of Life.

In a quiet mountainside village where we have a resthouse, trees like this surround our street. My childhood friend’s late grandmother planted all of them and they’ve been around for as long as I can remember. Every summer, when the kapok fruits are brown, plump, and ready to burst just like in the photo, she would start harvesting them, one by one. My friends and I would help her, climbing the trees or using a sungkit or kalawit (I don’t know the English counterpart, but it’s a long pole-like apparatus used to pick fruits on high, hard to reach areas of trees). By the end of the week, the kapok trees would be free of their fruits, and sacks of kapok cotton would be lined up outside my friend’s house, waiting to be sold.

When she died several years ago, no one bothered to harvest the kapok fruits in her place, not even my childhood friend or his parents. So every summer, most of the kapok trees remain heavy with their fruits. When the afternoon breeze prods them strong enough, the fruits crash on the ground and break open to release balls of cotton in the air, much to the dismay of villagers who find kapok cotton stuck on their laundry and floating on their basins of water.

I’m not sure if anyone else thinks of it this way, but I’ve always found the balls of cotton floating in the air and around the grassy areas a pretty sight. When I saw hordes of floating kapok cotton this summer, I was reminded of my childhood, and the diligent grandmother who planted the kapok trees.

KAITEN-ZUSHI

Nikon FE2 + Kodacolor 200

Dining in a conveyor belt sushi restaurant (kaiten-zushi) is no doubt a must-try for every gustatory traveler, especially for someone who loves Japanese cuisine. Of course, I’ve always wanted to try dining in sushi-go-rounds, but I have no idea where to go. Japanese restaurants are common here in the Philippines, but I’ve never heard of a kaiten-zushi restaurant anywhere here. Until one night, my brother and I discovered this affordable kaiten-zushi restaurant in one of the biggest malls in Metro Manila. We dragged our mom for a sushi dinner in this restaurant, and since she’s tolerant of Japanese food, she obliged.

We were ushered to a table for four with the conveyor belt server beside our table and seats, unlike in most kaiten-zushi restaurants in Japan, where diners are facing the conveyor belt. Being the first timer that I was, I kept snapping photos of the sushi plates on the conveyor belt even while eating! The sushi was great, we couldn’t stop stuffing our mouths full! I should have taken a photo of our pile of plates.

Someday, I hope I’ll get to try the kaiten-zushi restaurants in Japan!

FISHING VILLAGE

FED 3 + Lucky B&W 100

During my birthday trip to Vigan, my companions and I spent a night in a seaside hotel in Barangay Mindoro, a coastal village near the town proper. Mindoro Beach, as I have mentioned and shown in previous blog posts and photos, is not perfect for swimming because of its strong waves. Nevertheless, we got soaked as we frolicked along the seashore early the next morning, playing along with the rolling waves while taking snapshots here and there. This photo of some fishermen getting their nets ready is one of the shots I took using my then newly-purchased FED 3 rangefinder.

According to Jennie (she was one of my companions during the trip), she was told that when these village fishermen are able to get a good catch, other villagers help pull the nets closer to the shore. If you are able to help pull the nets, the fishermen will share some of their catch with you. Too bad we already left the hotel when we learned about this. Maybe we’ll get to try it once we go back to Vigan!

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It’s June, and summer is officially over here on my side of the world. While I am relieved that I no longer have to put up with unforgiving heat and sweaty days, I am saddened by the sight of gray clouds and gloomy skies. I also sleep longer and more often than normal, because of the hypnotic pitter-patter of the rain outside and the cold weather that puts my body in hibernation mode.

Anyway, it’s been some time since I last did a TILT post, so here it is!

♥ Caramel

Of all things sweet and yummy, caramel is on top of my favorites. I find anything with caramel on it heavenly, comforting, and stress-busting! I like it even on my coffee—-it’s not surprising that I fell in love with Caramel Macchiato at first sip! One plastic cup of Caramel Sundae from McDonald’s and I am swept off my feet with happiness and sugar rush. The weather has been colder, but it’s not cold enough to stop me from getting my Caramel Sundaes.

♥ Thai Cuisine

One of my missions in life is to be a gustatory traveler and try as many cuisines as I can. Thai is among the best cuisines I’ve tried so far, and I’m sure people all over the world adore it as much as I do. I love how the intense and aromatic flavors of Thai Cuisine blend together and complement each other in dishes like the hot-sour Tom Yum soups and the sweet-sour-salty combo Yam Pla Duk Foo (Crispy Catfish with Green Mango Salad).

A restaurant called Jatujak (yes, named after the largest weekend market in Thailand) in a mall I frequent serves authentic Thai Cuisine without making wallets bleed. I have been to more expensive Thai restaurants before, but Jatujak is the best I’ve tried so far. Their Tom Yum with Mixed Seafood is a lot better than the ones I tried before, and I was delighted at its explosive goodness on my tastebuds. My first encounter with Yam Pla Duk Foo was also with Jatujak, and I loved it to the last strand of the flossy catfish flesh.

♥ Electronica

I have nothing but fascination for Electronic music right now. I’ve been amazed at the variety of moods and emotions I experience while listening to different artists and tracks. I got initiated into this genre with tracks from Crystal Castles. Interestingly, a lot of mixtapes I downloaded have electronica tracks in them, leading me to other interesting artists like Washed Out, Azeda Booth, and Blue Hawaii.

Here’s one of my current favorite tracks, Dream Electrixra by Blue Hawaii.

♥ The Strokes

When I’m not listening to Electronica, my ears are craving for music of The Strokes. I’ve been listening to this American garage rock revival band for quite some time now, after I copied a friend’s playlist out of curiosity on what she listens to everyday. As far as I’m concerned, they have what it takes to make fanboys and fangirls out of ordinary listeners and pretentious hipsters—-unique lyrics, awesome beats and guitar riffs, hypnotic bass, and the hotness of frontman Julian Casablancas, whose voice fangirls call “a gift from God.” I actually agree.

I’m in love with several of their songs, but lately, I keep Reptilia on loop on my player. Here’s a live performance, with an extra ear candy—-Julian’s sexy speaking voice. *melts*

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