Yearly Archives: 2009

Flashforward, Etc.

  By zarine | October 23, 2009 - 2:50 am | TV
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I’ve written a short note about this new TV series called FlashForward here. It’s a science fiction drama in which the entire human race got a glimpse of the future and shows how they are living in the present, in anticipation of that future. And then there are those who didn’t have a vision and are now worried sick that there may not be a future for them. Will they stop living, pull out their Blue Cross NC plans or the like, and wallow while waiting for destiny? Or should they do everything in their power to prevent that turn of events? It’s a compelling concept; I just hope it won’t fizzle out soon. So today I’m downloading the latest episode, and let’s just say that my Internet connection is getting really, really slow and I’m not sure if its the fault of my ISP or its because of the router we’re using to split the connection between my desktop PC and my sister’s laptop. Anyway, Thursday, U.S. time, is TV heaven for me – Fringe, FlashForward, Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, and 30 Rock. I’m really hoping that this thing will gather speed soon so I can start my weekly marathon.

Real-Life Dramas on TV

  By zarine | October 22, 2009 - 10:50 pm | Random Thoughts, TV
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I sometimes fall asleep watching the Crime & Investigation channel. Whenever I wake up in the morning to that cable channel’s eerie theme, my first thought is always that it’s fortunate I didn’t have a nightmare because of the scary real-life stuff they usually feature. I’m usually too tired to turn off the TV before I admit to myself that I am too  sleepy to pay attention to any show. Watching these programss can make one really paranoid; especially because, last night, I noticed an overcurious neighbor trying to look inside our apartment, over stained glass, at 3 a.m. no less. But they’re also compelling to watch, especially  when they show how law enforcers crack cases or how technology helps in solving crimes and analyzing evidence. Sometimes, though, I prefer CSI. At least with that,  despite their focus on flair and improbable situations, I have the luxury to think that everything that happens are fictional.

Real-life drama always make good television. Just this week, they featured a complicated case of missing Last Will and Testament Forms on the event of a supposedly natural death of a very wealthy individual. His California Will apparently shows that he has a sole major benefactor, a lover who swiftly took another lover upon his death and also ended up dead, with the new lover’s name appearing on the other dead person’s will. Stuff like that happens in real life, yes.

Learning to Read and Write

  By zarine | October 15, 2009 - 3:33 pm | Random Thoughts
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I must warn you that this is not a new sentiment. I have a number of unread books at home and yet I can’t stop myself from looking at more and then buying some. I have decided to give up on the books that I tried reading but just couldn’t finish for a number of reasons. Maybe I’ll sell them online or something. I’ve read somewhere that someone said “people buy books for either of two reasons: to read them or to have bragging rights about them.” I think I buy books because they call to me. Or something. And I actually read most of those I buy. But I need to focus here. I sometimes feel I can’t concentrate enough when sitting down with a book these days. Too much Internet is making me breezy. I need to find gulf shores condo rental and get a vacation, eh?

I’m also trying to flex my writing muscles, by writing about boring stuff for others no less. I miss really writing. I’m not inspired by the directions both my blogs are going. But that’s my fault. I’m learning again. Here’s hoping I’ll never stop learning.

The Children’s Laughter + Martha Stewart Online

  By zarine | October 12, 2009 - 10:41 pm | Personal
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I was thinking of that old Whitney Houston song. The one that says the children are our future. I was at a celebration yesterday for a friend’s newborn baby girl, and of course a lot of other colleagues’ children, babies and toddlers, were present as well. It was such a joy to watch them and play with them. Those kids … when they laugh you can’t help but forget about the bad things happening in the world, at least for a few seconds. Because I’m no prophet, I don’t know if I’ll ever have one. Not for lack of want, but this is one thing that I no longer delegate to the must-have, I-won’t-be-complete-without-one category. Truth is, as of right now I don’t have much in the way of that category. It could change in time, but I am just living in the NOW, now. One day I’m sitting at the office, bored to death by the all-too-common tasks at hand, while some day I may be looking at Martha Stewart online, looking for ways to make my family’s home pretty. It may sound outrageous, even on paper, but I do have a romantic streak in me. I may not believe that things are written in the stars, but if something beautiful happens, then I won’t have qualms telling you that, yeah this time it seems they are.

Unnecessary Things

  By zarine | October 7, 2009 - 10:05 pm | quotes
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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
— Maya Angelou

Sometimes I get too preoccupied with the former. That is why I need quotes such as this one to remind me of the things that I may be doing wrong or taking for granted. With so many stuff to occupy one’s fancy, how do you choose which one to give your devotion to? In my life, I have the necessary and the unnecessary. What makes me happy is beyond category; or so I’d like to think, because quite frankly it doesn’t happen often that things take my breath away.  I wish it would, though. And I wish that I’d at least learn to prioritize; sometimes I feel like I’m steering towards the wrong path and worrying about improbable destinies, like buying dash kits before even owning a car. I think it would be beautiful, though – to have your breath taken away sometimes.

Bargaining

  By zarine | October 5, 2009 - 10:58 pm | Random Thoughts
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I probably prayed over the last weekend a lot more than I used to do these past few years. I was not affected by the flooding that created havoc to most of Manila a week ago, although a number of my close relatives were. But it did serve as a jolt to my consciousness just how  fast, and easy, things can change (and, unfortunately, sometimes for the worse) when it is nature that grabs the steering wheel. We’ve always known that, but I guess we tend to forget; maybe it’s also part of our survival instinct. We can’t go on living worrying about natural disasters  every single second of our lives. Even life insurance won’t give us peace of mind. Whatever lesson each of us learned through all this, let’s keep a bit in our memories. Knowing we are powerless against nature, we can at least do our part to help preserve it or else make our lives count more while we have it.

Futures Trading

  By zarine | September 28, 2009 - 8:59 pm | Products
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A former classmate recently told me about trying the stock market once. That totally surprised me because I’ve never seen him as the type that is interested in futures trading signals and stuff. That was before recession took a hit to the world and people are still brave in investing money. I’ve always thought about doing just that although I have zero knowledge about that whole side of business. Truth be told, I have zero knowledge about business. Period. Anyway, my friend’s trial didn’t work out. I guess I’ll need other tips for understanding ETF trading signals . The thing is, in such a time like this when people are always nervous about losing jobs or finding it so hard to have supplemental income, it’s kind of hard to take risk on new things. But not taking risk will just keep us wondering, anyway, so if we can take some calculated ones, I guess that would be okay.

I tried to read about how that thing works and it practically gave me nosebleeds. I’ll need trading mentoring if I really want to get it. I do believe that this is neither a past time nor a hobby but a serious profession. Besides, you’re going to be shelling out money. That’s no joke. I think options mentoring will help to develop strategies beyond learning about the, well, trade (no pun intended).

I guess there are books about these things. Like a Dummy’s guide or something.  There is a “Dummies” book for almost everything, right? From the simplest thing to the more complicated ones.  I haven’t tried buying one, though, so I can’t judge for now if those tips work. Maybe I’ll also check those out sometime. Now maybe this is really not the best time to deal on something as risky as relying on forex signals. I just thought that having at least an understanding might be a good thing.

Baby Car Seats

  By zarine | September 27, 2009 - 11:27 am | Products
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On my way to work one day, I saw a man outside a car frantically giving directions to someone inside. It looks like he’s teaching someone how to pull up the window lock so he can open the car door. Because it was traffic and the vehicle I’m on stopped right beside his, I saw that the person trapped inside is actually a toddler and I’m guessing the father left the keys inside. I can only imagine the panic the dad was feeling right that moment. Especially because his kid is on the driver’s side of the car.

I guess it’s pretty stressful to become a parent, if only for the meticulous details of taking care of children. But I also believe them when they say all the troubles and hard work are worth it. With the little ones, car seats are mandatory when bringing them into a trip, most especially long trips. It’s like saying that you should wear your seat belts every time. Babies and toddlers are so fragile, and not to mention so active and hard to manage, that you really have to give particular attention to them while traveling.

Well, the good thing is, baby products are so much diverse now. You can find just about anything you need, even if you’re looking for convertible car seats. Back in the day, when I was still a baby, there are not much stuff like that to aid our parents. A lot of us turned OK, anyway, thank heavens.

Christmas Company Gift Ideas

  By zarine | September 24, 2009 - 3:32 pm | Random Thoughts
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Well, a few days from now and it will be October. Pretty soon, people will be cramming for Christmas presents and you can be assured the malls will be packed, economic recession or not. I’m quite curious about what our office will give away this year. I wonder if there will be freebies at all, as what has been traditionally done. Save maybe for last year when the budget was really tight; or so they said. I believe this jacket I’ve been wearing at work was from two years ago. Anyways, for Christmas company gift ideas, you can check out ShareInAFrame.com.

Nature Trip Delayed

  By zarine | September 22, 2009 - 7:45 pm | -The Z Diaries-
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I was supposed to go on a mini-vacation two days from now. A trip to a highly-praised “paradise” that offers beautiful scenery fit for photo holiday cards and breathtaking beaches to satisfy my lifelong fascination with the sea. As it turned out, this will have to wait for now. My sister, who is supposed to be my beach buddy, had to go on a business trip and bummed as I was that I won’t be able to travel albeit domestically, I am happy that she had the opportunity to see the Grand Canyon in Arizona, in addition to her California and Las Vegas getaways. No, I’m not bitter. Really. A bit envious, of course, of course. But I’m still bidding my time. It will come. Fingers crossed.