When I bought my laptop, the saleslady who assisted me was very persuasive and the focal point of her sales pitch is that this brand has a 6-cell battery which can give me at most 6 hours of battery life. As these things usually turn out, I eventually realized that it will only happen if you will turn on your laptop and then not do anything with it. Because when I used it, doing my usual stuff, the battery lasted for around 3 hours at most. I asked around about the MacBook Pro, which boasts of a 10-hour battery life, and they told me that it actually only lasts for 6 hours. Not bad. But I’m thinking more about buying a replacement battery than buying a Mac. I tried to search online but it turned out that I don’t know the exact code of my laptop model is. Well, I should find it soon. Might turn out to be something like 108R00723.

Even if you know squat about tennis, you probably have heard from the news how one match at the ongoing Wimbledon tournament in London has gone for 3 days – 11 hours and 5 minutes – with a final scoreline of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.

70-68! That deserves to be in bold, large, large font if only I know how to manipulate this html thing. John Isner won the match of the tournament against Nicolas Mahut (because unless Federer and Nadal can stage something magical, if they both reach the final, nothing will beat this one). I say give these guys bow ties and celebrate their effort at the Champions Dinner at the end of the fortnight.

I do believe nothing like that will happen again, at least not in the next hundred years. Simply unbelievable.

When I was in elementary school, a friend brought our group to her house and introduced us to the family computer game Super Mario Bros. I was instantly addicted, considering that those times my most treasured gift from my parents is my Game n Watch (the one where you have to catch jumping fishes). Kids today wouldn’t know what I’m talking about. But those days, invitations to get together and play such video games never go unnoticed.

I only remembered this because my sister brought home a PlayStation 2 and we’re abusing it by playing kiddie arcade games, instead of the usual role-playing games or other currently popular video games. Well, to each his own I guess.

It’s that time of the year again when employees of our company are required to undergo a physical exam. It’s not supposed to be one of those things you don’t look forward to because it’s for our personal benefit actually. It just can be tedious sometimes. For lazy people like me, that is. We make up every reason to not give specimens for testing and find it bothersome to have a physical exam behind curtains where everybody else are just outside waiting for their turn. We even make fun of our height and weight measurements. It won’t surprise me if people will go buy weight loss pills after getting onto those scales.

Whenever I spend hours inside a salon, usually when I’m having my hair straightened or when I’m having any other hair treatment that takes a while to be done, the salon people will place a pile of magazines in front of me, which I actually go through with. I start with the celebrity, nay gossip, magazines because they are fun to read (and sometimes fun means hilarious). They devote pages and pages on one particular celebrity and by the time you finish reading the entire article, you can’t help but either be a fan (at least while the article’s still fresh in your mind) or marvel at the glitz-covered hypocrisy of some. Not that this next thing is one or the other, but I just can’t forget reading about those baby strollers that Jennifer Lopez’ friends gifted her twins. They cost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they were studded with diamonds. I mean, really? Is there really a need for diamonds? It sounds so wasteful. I know, the next peppy parents would just look for a Baby jogger city select that they can bring to the park and leave on one side while they play with their infants. I guess being filthy rich does redefines luxury and elegance in so many ways that those of us who are not will not understand.

My brother’s on his summer vacation. He actually wants to enroll in summer classes, not because he’s so into his studies but because he gets bored when he stays in our province. Imagine that. What does not surprise me is that he wants to take summer classes so he can be with his friends.. I was like that before, to be honest. Suffice it to say I told him to take a break. It’s just for barely two months anyway.

Ahh, I miss being a student. The way you don’t have to worry about too much except to pass your subjects, graduate on time, save your allowance, and all those student-y stuff. The first years in college, after you’re done with all sat prep and actually qualifies, are the best years. It’s good to be reminded of those times once in a while. It’s just too bad you can’t go back at will.

I’m glad that our entertainment centers are catching up with all the 3D hype. When I watched Avatar, actually on iMAX 3D, I realized that this technology isn’t going to go away. It may not become the standard in movie watching any time soon, first because it’s a lot more expensive and may not be to everybody’s taste, but to those who enjoy the 3D experience, it will never be enough to watch a 2D movie when you know it’s also available on 3D.

A couple of months ago, I joined a friend on her laptop hunting trip and ended up buying one for myself, way before she got hers. I already have a specific list of requirements in mind, and a price range as well. The stores we went to were all pretty straightforward; I didn’t even manage haggle for a price discount or substantial freebies. Not even an epson receipt printer. But I am pretty pleased with my purchase; my sister even named it “Delia” despite my aversion for it. It’s already been of much use to me already, so overall it was a good deal.

The tennis 2010 season is really shaping up to be a very exciting one. I remember last year that I couldn’t care less about the Open; I only knew Federer was in the finals the day before he and Rafael Nadal played, and then he lost that match (and infamously cried during the trophy ceremony). The women’s field back then was worse, with fresh-from-retirement Kim Clijsters taking away the U.S.  Open crown from the Williams sisters and every other one who has a claim to the top 10 ranking. But this year’s AO is filled with drama, epic & hard-fought matches, and a number of serious  contenders both in the men’s and the women’s draws.

But before I get carried away, forget my post topic and talk about auto insurance quotes instead, here are the big names that won on Sunday: Nadal, Murray, Roddick, and Cilic (defeated del Potro). For the ladies: Henin, Petrova, Zheng, and Kirilenko. What made these games big? Well, Roddick won in a tight five setter, Nadal fought of the tallest man on tour (Ivo Karlovic), Cilic won in five against another tall guy and the reigning U.S. Open champion, Petrova defeated Kuznetsova,  Safina retired against Kirilenko, and Henin continues her semi-fairy tale return.

I must say Wanted is one movie worth watching just for the fun of it. It was cool, wicked fun, and I’m not even one who usually line up for action flicks. I’m not sure if it’s fair for me to say that the movie has no substance whatsoever. I enjoyed the movie, although a few hours after watching, there’s nothing much to look back and get excited about anymore. Wanted is all action; it’s about the adrenaline rush, the Matrix-like scenarios, the impossible stunts; it’s about guns and knives, fast cars and trains; it’s about people beating each other up and killing in cold blood. The car-chase scenario at the beginning of the film is so improbable, as most of the stunts are, but it gets you to think that no matter how shiny and expensive those cars are, you won’t need to adorn them of anything, not pontiac accessories, not lexus accessories, and not even mitsubishi accessories. More than anything else, Wanted is about Angelina Jolie. I do like James McAvoy (loved him in Becoming Jane, liked him in Atonement) and he was a good fit for the character Wesley. Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freeman. But it is Angelina Jolie who lights up the screen. She gives us another kick-ass heroine that is as believable as the choreographed fight scenes. But no matter how underdeveloped the character is (which doesn’t really matter because of the film’s very simple plot), you’ll pine for her. When I watched this film last year at the cinema, I swear I heard more than a few swoons when in one scene, the camera pans to Fox (Jolie) giving out an amused, condescending smile, head tilted and body all poised and confident. It is a testament to Jolie’s star power that in this film where anybody can die as fast as you can swat a fly, Fox cannot be killed, unless it’s by her own hands. I think people don’t really expect substance from this movie. But if you’re looking for some mindless fun, then watch it and enjoy the ride.