his drink had just been brought by the waiter when his friend arrived.  "so, who do want me to be this time, the protagonist or the antagonist?"  the friend chuckingly asked upon settling to the chair in front.

"a little bit of both," came his reply.

"whoa, that's not good," his friend replied back.  "same old shit?"  the friend then asked.

he took a shot of his drink and played a bit with the glass with his thumb upon placing it on the table.  "yeah… so what else is new, right?  as you pointed out, 'same old shit,' different day," he sighed as he observed the ice on his glass slowly blend in with his drink.

"you see, that's what i don't get with women around you," the friend then bursted in, breaking the uneasy silence.  "i mean for god's sakes, they're staring at a surefire 'happily ever after' right in the face and they treat you like today's paper?  i mean, how dumb can they get?"

"easy there, you haven't had your drink yet and you're going ballistic already," he told the friend.  "i mean, i dunno… it's like… you know those professional basketball players, say in the nba, where there are dozens of very, very good players who take a run at chasing the championship.  some take different routes, different approaches, yet in the end, they come up empty handed, you know?  until such time that they get old, and they're still chasing it, and until they retire without winning one.  all their life–their careers–they're hell bent on getting one, just one, yet somehow, fate doesn't grant them any.  yet there are others who have two, three, four, even five…"  he then trailed off bowed his head down, then took another shot of his drink.

his friend, noticing that he's getting too serious, jokingly butted in, "sooo, you're comparing women to championship trophies?"  he let out a wry smile which slowly became a grin.  he then looked at his friend, and fired back, "i don't know what the hell i was thinking back there…"

as the laughter died down, he then told his friend, "hey, what do you want?" as he motioned the waiter to their table.  "i'm having what you're having," came the reply.  "another glass of mojito please, and add another one for my friend here."  "very well sir," the waiter acknowledged.  "this is your treat, right?"  the friend asked him.  "don't worry, i got you covered," was his reply.

"seriously, i know how you feel.  i know how it can be frustrating, especially for someone like you.  i know what you've been through, and i appreciate the trust you've given me, telling me everyrhing that's happened.  but sometimes, you know, you've got to hang in there.  keep the faith.  women are mysterious and surprising individuals.  believe me, i know.  just continue to be who you are and eventually, you'll get there," lectured his friend.

"i know.  i've always heard that," he replied.  "not just from you, but from others as well.  not that i don't appreciate what you're telling me, believe me, i do.  it's just that whenever i do find someone worth giving everything to, the same thing happens.  i get hurt, i heal, i start over.  it's a painful cycle, you know?"

"maybe you don't have to give your entire self, or not use all of your emotions or love to that person at first, but you know, just ease it up at first, then turn it up a notch as you go on," the friend suggested.

"but that's not me.  i'm not that way.  i'm an emotional person.  i don't know, that's how i was born, i guess.  and it doesn't feel right if i don't do it the way i do it," he lamented as the waiter arrived with their drinks.

taking a sip at the glass of mojito, his friend asked him, shifting in a slightly different direction, "hey, have you talked to this woman you told me about that you went to that disaster lunch with that you're going to stop seeing her?"

"nope, not yet.  i've asked her several times if we could talk, but she's either too busy, or avoiding that talk with me," he said.

"maybe she knows what you're going to say and doesn't want to hear any of it," the friend replied.

"maybe, but still, i have to tell her.  don't worry, she'll know." he replied back.

"speaking of talking, what's this i heard that a certain someone from your past started communicating with you again?  is this true?" his friend inquired.

"yeah, it is," he replied with a smile.  "it's surreal, you know?  i mean, she just came out of nowhere after about two years after ending a conversation on a bitter note.  i just couldn't believe that we're, well, 'talking' again." he continued.

"so what have you talked about so far?  did you have that talk about… you know, that 'talk?"" his friend prodded.

"no, not yet," he said as he took a sip of his drink.  "she just basically still remembered my mobile number and everything started from there.  i mean, i'm glad that we established ties again.  we used to be very, very close, remember?  maybe more than that.  but as far as what happened between us, i just told her that it's still an unclosed chapter in my life which may remain that way, or if fate would have it, would finally be talked about between us and close whatever needs to be closed."

"did she tell you about, well, maybe having that 'talk' at all anytime soon?"  the friend then asked.

"no, but i'm leaving it up to her.  if she wants to, then we'll talk.  although i did let her know that there are still some things i needed to know and answers to questions that i wanted to hear.  but i'm not forcing her to do anything.  as i've said, i left that chapter of my life in the backburner, although it's still an open issue, i've conditioned myself that that may be remained open forever, so as not to expect anything from her," he answered.

"well i hope she does have that talk with you, for both your sakes," his friend told him.  "by the way, how's this other woman you talked to me about?  has she made her presence felt after you two went out a couple of weeks ago?"

"nope, unfortunately not.  but you know her, she only remembers me when she misses me.  unlike me, i think about her all the time," he answered.

"you know what, you should drop her like a hot potato.  it's obvious that she's using you to fill her missing emotional needs because she knows how you feel about her.  she's treating you like a spare tire.  and you're not one.  you're in for the long haul.  she's not.  forget about her,"  the friend insisted.

he let out a deep sigh, took another sip of his drink and replied, "whatever… maybe… i dunno… let's just see what happens when she does holler."

"you know what," his friend started, "i have this frien
d once who told me, 'i can tell you what you need to hear, when you need to hear, or what you want to hear, but eventually, you're going to have to make that decision yourself.'"

he nodded at what his friend said.  "i know.  hey, thanks for listening.  i owe you one."

"no you don't.  you already paid for my drink, that's enough," his friend said, laughing.  "nah, you can always count on me.  i'll always be here," the friend continued.

he raised his glass and offered a toast.  "here's to you, my friend."

his friend met the toast and refuted, "no, to you, my friend.  here's to you hoping that you find that someone you've long been waiting for and finally making you happy."

"amen, my friend," and both of them burst into laughter.  "hey, i'm eyeing someone new, have i told you that?"  he said.

his friend was a bit surprised, sarcastically replied, "here we go again…"

still riding high on the transformers release on the big screen, here are a couple of movies to be released within the year that are worth watching for (at least for me… hehehehe):

resident evil:  extinction – the final installment in the resident evil series (the initial plan was to have a fourth movie, but plans for that have been scrapped, thus this being the final chapter of the series).  all the characters–except for the little girl in part two–are set to return with new characters to be introduced.  most notable of them is ali larter playing the role of claire redfield, who appeared in the RE:2 game.  the film is scheduled to be released in mid-august.

 

 

 

 black sheep – more movies about zombies, but this one's a little different.  instead of human zombies, they're in the form of–well, you guessed it–sheep (baaaa).  i was laughing a bit when i saw the trailer for this one since sheep acting as zombies are quite funny.  but it's no comedy, believe me.  a good ol' hack-en-slash film which was released in the US early last month, and may make it's way here by late july or mid-august at the earliest.

 

 

national treasure:  book of secrets – the sequel to the highly successful 2004 treasure hunt film starring nicolas cage, justin bertha, and diane kruger.  this one will be released in the US sometime in late december, and if it's not a worldwide synchronized release, could end up here by january or early february of next year.

 

 

rush hour 3 – another sequel to a highly successful movie franchise.  august 10, 2007 is the target release date on american shores and for sure, this comic duo will have theaters bursting with laughter.

 

there are many more good movies to be shown in the latter part of the year.  it's just the middle of the summer in the US and the summer movie season isn't over yet.  some of you might wonder why i didn't include harry potter.  well, for the simple reason that i don't like harry potter.  for me, it's still a childish movie not worth watching.  even if harry is all grown up, or even if i'll be paid half a million pesos to watch the movie.  i just don't get the fascination over this series.  a boy magician.  so what?  he goes to school for magicians.  like i care.  kid's play to me.  i don't care if it's a phenomenal success worldwide.  it stil sucks.  at least there are other good movies out there.  but by far, transformers is still the movie of the year for me.  😀

yesterday officially marked the start of the second half of the year. my, my, how time really flies. soon it'll be christmas–my favorite time of the year–and just like last year, i'll be going on a holiday vacation to be with my family. whether my superior(s) approve that or not, it doesn't matter anymore. i've never been absent or late the entire year, so in some regard, i believe i deserve to have that time off. yet i'm guessing that my superior(s) won't buy that and they would go as far threaten me with issuing a verbal warning of some sort just like last year. frankly, it won't be new to me anymore. although at that time i was adamant that i was indeed issued one (imagine a perfect attendance employee being issued a verbal warning for attendance for going on unapproved leave even though i plotted those leaves many months ahead), i guess i won't be surprised anymore this time around if they do the same. but nothing won't change my mind in going on holiday vacation. but that's still far off, so i'll contemplate more about that as it approaches.

looking back, i could pretty well say that the first half of the year went not as bad as i thought it would be. i mean, i always lower my expectations so as not to be completely disappointed and it helps keep me on the ground to see things up close. had my first beach trip in two years to a place i have never been before, started working out at the gym, got an ipod video from my brother as a welcome home present (even though he was the one who went away and that i didn't ask him to buy me anything), had a 10-day vacation from work wherein i did absolutely nothing but stay home, and finally ended my wait for transformers to be shown. i guess that's the icing on the cake. 😀

so what's in store for me during the next six months? i have no idea, but just the same, i won't be expecting too much. not that i'm not being optimistic or not having a positive outlook, it's just that i'd rather play safe and end up appreciative and thankful in the end, rather than be all upbeat, expecting all good things to come my way and then end up disappointed and miserable when nothing does come. though it doesn't hurt to think positive–believe me, most of the time i think that way–i always mix that with being real. when shit happens, accept and roll with the punches (yet in my personal life, that's all i've been doing lately). we're halfway through the year. and whatever we feel about what just happened in the first half, father time doesn't give a damn and just moves on.

 it was a fantasy come true and i could very well say that the wait was really worth it.  to finally see my favorite cartoon series immortalized on the big hollywood screen, the feeling is indescribable.  good thing i didn't expect too much or rather, i came into the movie house with an open mind as to what to expect since being an avid fan of the cartoon series, everything is still fresh in my mind–from the very first episode, to the animated movie, and to the resurrection of optimus prime and the show of respect by galvatron to optimus prime himself–i thought there might be some changes to the real-life potrayal of these amazing robots.  for sure, the generation that grew up not watching the animated series will definitely like this one.

 

of course, i cannot avoid having comparisons to the animated series.  and there are some noticeable differences.  not just how the robots look like, but some other facets of the whole transformers saga.  like, where did the "all spark" came from?  that's the first i heard of it.  and, if i'm not mistaken, not one mention of their homeworld of cybertron.  what was shown was a desolate planet compared to a highly technological one in the series.  i was also looking (listening) to the transforming sound used in the animated series, but it was used sparingly in the movie.  also, what i really found disturbing was optimus prime saying "my bad" after apologizing when he accidentally stepped on a garden ornament.  i always found him to be the proper type, being a leader and all.  but mind you, i had goose bumps when the two lead characters saw a semi barrelling down the alley, then stopping, then finally transforming into the robot form.  whoo!  ultimate coolness.  also noticeable about optimus prime is his voice.  yes, it's unmistakeably that it's peter cullen, the one who actually voiced prime in the animated series, but he already sounded a bit old.  or maybe the producers added a little distortion to it to make it… cooler, perhaps?  and i was waiting for him to say his most famous line–"autobots, transform and roll out!"–but he didn't!  damn!  major omission!  well, technically he did say it, but without the transform.  as for the other autobots, i would very well say that ratchet is the more good-looking one other than optimus prime, jazz is a pushover, ironhide kicks ass and bumblebee, well, he's so quiet.

 

now, to really criticize the movie itself coming from a avid fan of the animated series, one of the things i didn't quite agree with the movie was the scene where there was a "bashing" of a volkswagen on the used car lot, the car being bumblebee's original form in the series.  i just wished the producers used the new beetle as his car form.  although i don't see anything uncool about his car form in the movie, sticking with the original would've provided more recognition to the fans and a more human interaction with the lead character, i guess.  speaking of forms, why the hell is megatron a spacecraft and not at least a cannon (a gun wouldn't be possible with his size) of some sort?  i was actually wondering through all the trailers before the movie was shown what would megatron transform into.  sad to say, the producers didn't follow or at least try to choose a better alternative without going too far off the series.  and a tank being devastator?  what?!  yes, bonecrusher (one of the constructicons) was there, but i would've agreed if the tank was named blitzwing (the triple-changer in the series where it transforms to a tank and an aircraft), but to use the name devastator outside of the constructicons is not right, at least not for me.

 

yet despite these changes and omissions, i give the movie a four out of five.  i'll still wait for the dvd release and add it to my collection.  michael bay still lives up to his reputation of having kick-ass action/suspense movies with wall-to-wall action and deafening gunfights.  the only hint of a sequel is starscream flying out into space after the decepticons were defeated–maybe to rally the other decepticons under his leadership (and to have his coronation, just like in the animated movie where he goes, "who dares interrupt my coronation?" before being blasted to smithereens by a newly re-formed galvatron) and attack the autobots anew–and optimus prime calling out to the other autobots to seek refuge on earth, their new home (where's teletran one when you need him?)  in any case, it's still a very good movie.  as i have said, the newer generation will definitely enjoy this one.  and for those who haven't seen it and are avid fans of the animated series, i suggest you leave your brains outside the theater and criticize it after you have seen it so as not to spoil your time inside.  in closing, the movie itself is more than meets the eye.

   after a year of waiting and a slew of teasers and trailers, the single biggest, anticipated movie of the year opens tomorrow!!  it's what avid fans of the cartoon series–me included–have been waiting for!  this particularly jumpstarted my mood earlier in the week (though it was slightly brought down by my previous entry on chris benoit's death) and hopefully this positive feeling carries on even after seeing the movie.

 

all i can say is that i can't hardly wait for tomorrow!  bring on those big, freakin' robots!!  😀