TAG, TAG
April 26, 2006
It’s great how people come up with these strange tag, tag things. All I have to do is tick the box if something applies to me. In this case, the instructions are to tick the box of something you fear.
No one said I couldn’t put side comments, right? I’m feeling especially witty (talkative) today, as some people don’t know how to reply when I answer the phone politely. Must take out irritation on something innocent — like my blog. Or diary. Whatever.
Now, for the list. According to current emotional state, Inez fears:
[ ]the dark (I like dark places. That must be the fungus part of me talking)
[x] staying single (this is something I won’t admit, but yes. So very. There. Now the whole world knows)
[ ] getting married (doesn’t anyone have a wish list for these kinds of things?)
[ ] being a parent (See “getting married”)
[ ] giving birth (See “being a parent”)
[ ] being myself in front of others (I always am. It’s the others who are afraid of me. I should put my name on this list)
[ ] open spaces (Something I crave…a place where I can run free like the wind! Metaphorical or otherwise! Metaphorical place, I mean; not wind. Never mind.)
[x] closed spaces (I sometimes have strange dreams of being pressed down and enclosed in a small space. If that thing pressing me down is an old hag in the form of Jesse Spencer, allow me to un-tick the box…)
[ ] heights (Yeesh. I actually love heights!)
[ ] cats (I love cats, too)
[ ] dogs (And I really love dogs)
[ ] birds (What kinds?)
[ ]spiders and/or other insects (Strangely, they seem to like staying away from me. Hmmm. I may be a whole other species of insect. Past life as prehistoric giant bee, maybe?)
[ ] driving or being in cars (This goes into my wish list)
[ ] flying (Wish list again)
[ ] being put to sleep (Like a dog, you mean? I actually WANT to sleep!)
[ ] flowers or other plants (It’s a Gemini thing to love flowers)
[ ] being touched (Yum yum. Wish list!)
[ ] fire (Metaphorical or real? Either way…)
[ ] water (I can understand fearing water in the sea…but in a glass? A bucket? That’s just way too twisted)
[ ] the ocean (Ehem, Project Logus, ehem)
[ ] pools (Of what? Chocolate? Men? Wow, pools of hunks! Hem. Wish list.)
[x] failure (Doesn’t everyone else?)
[ ] success (Never! Ha! Unless this is the form of success that makes you jump out of the bathroom and yell, “Success!” In which case…WISH LIST!)
[ ] germs (I love them. I hardly wash my hands. Ha! Yuck.)
[ ] thunder/lightning (I actually love storms. This doesn’t mean I’m evil, right?)
[ ] frogs/toads (I like dissecting them, so I suppose I should be on the amphibian hit list by now)
[ ] mice/rats (I like dissecting them, too. They look pretty inside. Except when I’m dissecting pregnant mice and I have to drown the babies and watch them die. Then I feel like crying.)
[ ] jumping from high places (This is actually something I’d like to do, with a harness, of course. If this were a metaphorical question — “Do you like taking unnecessary risks in life, like those that will most likely end up in you dying and/or suffering excruciating pain like a broken heart?” — then maybe I’d tick the box. Maybe.)
[ ] snow (Love snow.)
[ ] rain (Love rain more.)
[ ] wind (If this is the kind of wind that comes out of people’s behinds…well)
[ ] cemeteries (I love these, too. Best cemetery ever is on the hill overlooking Florence, Italy, near the Piazza Michelangelo, I think. Or Piazza of St. Michael. I now know two new things about myself: I love weird things, and I forget common things.)
[ ] clowns (Hahahaha!)
[ ] large crowds (Never! Especially if I’m about to deliver a speech in front of one! Attention ‘ho? Maybe.)
[x] demons or evil (Yes, really. Really.)
[ ] crossing bridges (Burn the bridge when I get there? Been there, been that? You can never can tell?)
[ ] death (Strangely, no. Can’t wait to die. And meet God. I HOPE.)
[x] Hell (Want to die, but not to go here.)
[ ] Heaven (Why should I?)
[x] being robbed (To some extent, yes)
[x] being sexually assaulted (Unless it’s a deliberate offer by Antonio Banderas. “Oooh Eenezzz, lhet mheee azzault yuuuu zekshualeeh.” How should I answer that? “Si?” “Yezz yezz por favor plezzz?”)
[ ] men (If I may, men fear ME)
[ ] women (Should I?)
[x] having great responsibility (In the abstract, but the word “responsibility” has a “Doom” ring to it)
[ ] doctors, including dentists (Not anymore. I now love being operated on)
[ ] tornadoes (Can’t wait to see one!)
[ ] hurricanes (That’s just like asking me if I hate rain. Gads, I love storms!)
[x] being punished (Oh! Oh! Oh! For what? Giggle giggle.)
[x] diseases, including cancer and STD’s (More of the STD part, in which case I will choke my future husband and make sure he dies a more horrible death than mine. Peace.)
[ ] snakes (But I like snakes!)
[ ] sharks (Sharks, too!)
[ ] dinosaurs (And dinosaurs!)
[ ] Friday the 13th (No longer superstitious. This is for kids)
[ ] poverty (Would my mom spank me if I said, “No?”)
[ ] ghosts (Can’t wait to see some again)
[ ] Halloween (Miss trick or treating)
[ ] school (I hate it. I don’t fear it.)
[ ] trains or railroads (If you listen to the song “Buses and Trains,” you will understand the absence of the tick mark)
[ ] fear (So trite. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Toink)
[x] being alone (And now we get to the drama…)
[ ] losing my friends (Not really. Friends they come. Friends they go. The only thing that remains is…God.)
[ ] being blind to things (Wow. If I were writing “The Romantic” now, I’d be sobbing and going, “Dear reader, Rachel was blind…”)
[ ] being deaf (I’d miss the music, but I’ll survive. I think I AM deaf now.)
[ ] growing up (Already am.)
[ ] being murdered in my sleep (As long as I don’t feel a thing and didn’t go to sleep with mortal sins)
I therefore conclude that I fear 11 out of 66 things. I hope I counted them right.
GRADUATION, ET. AL.
April 26, 2006
Last Sunday, I was formally awarded my Master’s Degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The nice thing is that I got to meet a few former students and exchange a few stories. The sad thing is that I still have the same question pounding in this here head:
NOW WHAT?
Is there really no hope for my novel to get printed here? Can I not sell without the ISBN? Are men really stupid and hopeless?
Must sigh, and deeply.
Also watched “Good Night, and Good Luck.” WOW. Comparable to “Crash” in power. Must review soon, like in May, when I don’t have too much stupidity in my head.
A LETTER TO GOD
April 7, 2006
Dear God,
I am the lowest, basest human being there ever was.
I wish I could be a better child, someone who could truly live up to being called a Catholic. Someone who won’t sin at all, in word or in deed. That would be very nice, Papa God. I’d be good: so good, that people would call me boring. But I wouldn’t care, because I’d be doing your will.
On the other hand, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Even Mama Mary didn’t get the Royal Treatment of Having Life Easy, and she’s sinless!
So what am I complaining about?
You know what, Dad, I have no idea. I guess I’m so sick and tired of fending off temptation, repenting, getting angry, and being stupid – not necessarily in that order. I’m also tired of not being stronger, and wiser, and better. I know I should leave a lot of things to you, but sometimes, when I do, things don’t turn out the way I want them to.
So here I am, contradicting myself and my faith again. What’s a stupid girl to do? She prays, gets mad for a few hours when she doesn’t get what she wants, then concedes and thanks you. You know what else she does? She doesn’t properly acknowledge you, because every time she refers to you, she forgets to put a capital “Y” in You.
In other words, she’s stupid, but she loves You so much.
She’s willing to die for You, You know.
But she needs Your help, oh so badly. She wants to be in Heaven when she dies. She wants to look at You for all eternity. She thinks that THAT is the highest form of happiness.
And oh, dear Papa God, how Inez loves You! But how weak she is!
SO TRUE!
April 7, 2006
You Should Be a Film Writer
You don’t just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind.
You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life.
Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling.
And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!
What Type of Writer Should You Be?
TAG!
April 5, 2006
I’ve been tagged by Doctor Nessa. I’m tired and sleepy, but I ain’t passing this up, as I’m not in the mood for any more editing. Huhuhuhu. Brain is fried. Brain is gone. Bye bye brain.
My 4-some(s) follow:
Four Jobs I’ve Had In My Life:
1. laboratory instructor
2. freelance journalist/novelist
3. science communication specialist
4. telemarketer for a hotel’s membership card program (yes, annoying)
Four Films I Can Watch Over And Over Again (in no particular order):
1. Braveheart
2. Life is Beautiful
3. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
4. Gladiator
Four Places I Have Lived:
1. Pasay City
2. Los Banos, Laguna
3. Diliman, Quezon City
4. Iloilo City, Iloilo
Four TV Programs I Love To Watch:
1. House, MD
2. The X-Files
3. Covington Cross
4. CSI
Four Places I Would Have Visited, If I Had The Money:
1. Venice *been there, must go back*
2. Orvieto, Italy
3. New Zealand!
4. Macchu Picchu, Peru
Four Websites I Visit Daily:
1. Yahoo mail
2. Google Mail
3. Lulu.Com (to check on novel)
4. IMDB
Four Of My Favorite Foods:
1. smoked salmon
2. any of the pasta dishes at Amici di Don Bosco
3. pizza!
4. chocolate
Four Places I Would Rather Be: (right now?)
1. in Rome! Rome! Rome! Rome!
2. in Hollywood, being a movie star (hahaha)
3. in New York, meeting with my literary agent
4. at home, sleeping. dreaming.
Four Bloggers I Am Tagging (in no particular order):
1. Resty
2. Nanette
3. Clem
4. Vianney
PHOTO-OPS
April 4, 2005
Skip this entry if you’re not in the mood to groan in frustration and say, “Where is Hollywood and why hasn’t it discovered Inez Ponce de Leon yet?”
Oh, fine, fine, fine, I’m kidding. *Grin* So, shall we open the newly-established Album of Inez, Future Movie Star and World-Famous Author?
I can hear the groans from where I’m innocently typing this. Heckle, heckle, giggle, giggle, sneer, sneer.
Now, let’s get down to serious business. My first picture was taken last night, while Dr. Claudia Canales and I went out for drinks in LB Square (Piazza di Los Banos?). Dr. Claudia should have a photo blog — she takes lovely photos! This is me experimenting with rose petals and fire:
Figure 2: Inez, Pensive and Fascinated. Thank you so much to Signorina Claudia Canales for taking this lovely picture. It will soon have a permanent home in my About page, where I shall showcase even more insanity.
Another picture from Nicee, who took this while I was recovering from a whole lot of Tramadol and related meds. Thank you, my dear girl, for cheering me up.
Figure 3: Inez, Playing Peek-A-Boo After A Glass of Cold Chocolate. More pictures like this are at Nicee’s site. Poor girl. I must be keeping the visitors away from her blog with my images. Either that, or they’re coming in droves and her blog will shut down…
This all looks so sweet and tame…unlike my previous entry. Must remind self to retract claws and horns, and allow wings to grow again. Remember, Inez, we’ve made a vow to be good, and nice, and non-evil, because our greatest fear is not going to heaven when we die, right-o?
Strange. I wonder who the “we” and “our” are. Who am I talking to?
HORNY KETONG CORN
April 4, 2005
First, I would like to list down all the people I know I will be offending by this post.
To Blue Kettle Corp. of Mandaluyong City, I am sorry, but I will be changing a few of your images without your consent. You made me very…very…irritated.
To everyone who loves Holy Kettle Corn, I heard it tastes great, but I am sorry, as the label leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
And to God, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to speak out and be really nasty.
I present, ladies and gentlemen, dear appalled readers, the real popcorn!
Figure 1. Told you this was going to be nasty.
I can hear you asking: where is this animosity coming from? Allow me, then, to recount Holy Kettle Corn’s front and back labels. Let’s start with the tagline.
Holy Kettle Corn! Hand popped fresh everyday!
No problem there, except that “hand popped” calls up images of thousands of workers in a sweatshop all holding on to one kernel each and concentrating all their energy into raising the temperature of their fingers. Ohmmmm…ohmmmm…POP! Next! Ohmmmmm….ohmmmm…POP! Next!
Let’s move on. Still on the front cover:
There’s a lot more in our popcorn because it has less…
Ah, I love little things that say so much. Minimalist designs, minimalist homes — and now, minimalist popcorn. I’m not insulting anyone here — just making an observation. Speaking of things to observe:
No butter!
Good! No fattening thingies in my popcorn!
No preservatives!
Whee! The popcorn won’t mummify me!
No Artificial Flavors!
Very well! At least my popcorn will taste like…popcorn. And not like…chicken. Anyway, moving on…
No MSG!
Hip-hip-hooray for popcorn that won’t give me a headache!
but HIGH in FIBER!
That’s really nice — poop-inducing popcorn. The sentence construction is strange though: No butter, preservatives, artificial flavors, and MSG, but high in fiber. Does that mean that most other foods that are high in fiber are actually high in butter, preservatives, artificial flavors, and MSG, too — but Holy Kettle Corn is different?
Well, fine, let’s not get nitpicky about sentence construction. Let’s just remember that, as of now, butter, preservatives, artificial flavors, and MSG are BAD. We have to remember that, as this part of the bag is ONLY THE BEGINNING! (cue lightning and thunder)
Now, let’s move to the back. In big blue letters, we find ourselves greeted by:
The taste of heaven is just another bite away!
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this is as kinky as marketing can get. Biboy, on the other hand, says that, given the rest of the message — which we will see in a bit — this one should read “The taste of heaven is just another bite away — ’cause you’ll be dead by the time you finish eating this.”
Now, to proceed to the juicy part. First paragraph on the back side says:
Holy Kettle Corn! popcorn is hand popped fresh everyday. Only natural ingredients are used. You will not find artificial flavors nor any of those genetically modified foodstuff.
Before I seethe without warning, let’s slowly pick this sentence apart and dismember it phrase for phrase. First, I have no idea how you hand-pop popcorn. Maybe you could fill a deep pan with kernels and hold the pan over a fire using one hand. The phrase “hand popped” just makes me think New Age Psychic Sweatshop.
Second, I have no problem with “only natural ingredients are used.” I have yet to see synthetic corn anyway. I do know there’s lab-developed sugar and lab-isolated salt, as well as lab-extracted oil — but I suppose any company can grind their own sugar, dry out their own solutions to get salt, and press soy/corn to get their own oil just so they can come up with something so natural they can write their own Bibles and add Almighty to the ends of their names.
So THAT’S WHY THE POPCORN IS SO EXPENSIVE! It’s all so clear to me now.
AND NOW, for the BLEEPING last sentence. No artificial flavors, no problem — but don’t group the compound with genetically modified foodstuff UNLESS you can present vital proof that GM foods are harmful. Don’t group the compound with GM UNLESS you can prove that GM foods are unwanted.
There’s something in the GRE Logic section that reminds me of this. It’s called “Search for the missing premise,” and I’m going to do that searching now. Artificial flavors are bad. This popcorn has no artificial flavors. Therefore this popcorn is not bad. GM foods are bad. This popcorn has no GM foods. Therefore this popcorn is not bad.
FAULTY CONCLUSION FROM FAULTY PREMISES! Check your facts, dudes from Holy Kettle Corn, before writing the promotions out. If you can’t provide hard scientific evidence — read: peer-reviewed articles from reputable scientific journals — then don’t do the “GM is evil” thing because GM foods are not bad. Check your premises. Check your logic. Write the truth. The truth isn’t boring. It’s just THE TRUTH.
All right, Inez, calm down. NOW, for the next paragraph:
Our popcorn is sifted to weed out those little annoying unpopped kernels, although, a couple may get stuck to the sugar as it crystallizes. Nevertheless you still get heavenly popcorn in every bag.
Before I start yakking away: take away that comma between “although” and “a” and move it to the space between “Nevertheless” and “you,” for HEAVEN’S SAKE!
Ahem, ahem. No problem with this one, really. I can just imagine every single piece of hand-popped popcorn making its way into a bowl, along with those kernels who didn’t get popped because the ones who held them couldn’t get enough energy to do the popping. Throw in the sugar, allow it to crystallize, sift out the kernels that don’t get stuck to the sugar, yes, thank you, heavenly popcorn…
I won’t go through the nutrition facts any more. Let’s skip to the Ingredients part and play butcher again. Giggle, giggle, sneer, sneer:
Ingredients: Imported CORN that becomes round when popped, natural SUGAR that is sweet, natural SALT that is not sweet, and OIL that does not mix well with water.
Someone is trying his darndest to be funny, and it ain’t working. Some blogs are lauding this ingredients list. They call it “fun.” I call it “painful to read.”
Woops! Woops! I spot an email address! Shall write to them…
…but not before I post this online, as I am apt to show my fangs today. *grin*
But wait! There’s more!
Check out the SIDES of the bag! There are hidden messages there! Messages like:
DO NOT MICROWAVE. Recycle. Let’s do our part.
I have no problem with this, although I’d like to meet the idiot who tried to microwave the popcorn. Oh, and recycle what? Unpopped kernels?
I do, however, have a problem with this:
KEEP SEALED. Think tidy. It’s everyone’s responsibility.
Yup, thinking tidy is everyone’s responsibility. No, you don’t have to be tidy. Just think tidy. See? Easy, innit?
And now, for the email…
LENTEN READING
April 3, 2005
I’ve sworn off reading fiction for this Lenten season. So, unless I’m editing or adding to my novels, I’m not picking up any Austens, Hardys, or Brontes until Easter Monday.
I just finished The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. This is the book on which most of the movie The Passion of the Christ is based; and I had already heard that Mel Gibson, though faithful to the book, also had to cut out a great deal of gore to actually make the movie viewable.
The rumors are true, dear readers: I had to stop myself from sobbing through the book. So it was that bad — it was that bloody, the suffering, the punishment. And, through every imagined slap of the whip, through every image of flesh and bone being ripped and torn, I could not help asking: why?
The book contains the answer to that, and it seems, to me, to embody one hopeful message: Jesus died for our sins, but we must deserve that salvation. We must earn the privilege of partaking of the fruits of that sacrifice.
One other thing kept on playing in my head as I read. It was a constant, halting prayer of sorts, uttered with the sobs of my mind.
My dear Jesus, I am so sorry. I am so sorry for making you suffer again and again. I am so, so, so sorry. Please, please, please forgive me.
I know I have enough drama in this entry to make the mushiest person cringe, but I don’t care. It’s mush with a purpose. Yes, Inez who is hyper and who won’t stop talking — Inez is most like Catherine and Rachel in that she loves her faith, and she loves the Catholic church, and she loves the sacrifice of the Mass with all her heart.
SMIRK, SMIRK, GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE
April 3, 2005
Biboy, my officemate, was supposed to come in today with a bag of Holy Kettle Corn — just the bag, mind you, as the print on it is purportedly anti-GM, which makes me SEETHE. I won’t add to the company’s profits if it continues with its anti-GM lobbying. Smirk, smirk, grumble, grumble.
Where is Biboy, for goodness’ sake? I wanted to do that anti-Holy Kettle Corn thing today! Smirk, smirk, grumble, grumble.
Greenpeace also released its “2005 GM Contamination Report” recently. Oh, please! Please. SHUT. UP. For. Heaven’s. Sake! Smirk, smirk, grumble, grumble.
I’m reading the office white board now, and I came across this quote written by yours truly in a highly insane spate of weirdness (as opposed to a sane spate of weirdness?):
A boytoy is not enough
If a man is acceptable
Hahahaha! I have no idea what that means.
Well….That only means that even I cannot fathom the meaning of my writing. That only means that I make no sense at all. Can I even dare call myself a writer?
Smirk, smirk, grumble, grumble.
YOU KNOW YOU’RE A FILMMAKER…
April 2, 2005
…(or you know that you love films) when you can relate to the items in the following list. (Thank you, Nicee, for this!)
1. You love/hate Tarantino. Either that or you’re just jealous that a former video store clerk has made a living ripping off old movies and making them cool again.
-If I really don’t care about Quentin T., what does that make me?
2. You’re inspired by music. Any music because it helps you edit the “scene in your head.”
-Does “editing that scene that shall soon land in my novel” count? Because Horner’s “For the Love of a Princess” from the Braveheart OST makes me think of scenes from The Guild; Nickelback’s “Far Away” is the OST to the outtakes of The Romantic; and Josh Groban’s “Remember When it Rained” is the theme of Sanctuary.
3. In any phase of production, when all else fails, you steal from the French New Wave.
-Hmmm…not me, especially since I have no idea what “French New Wave” means. Would that be techno music in French? (If I sound dumb, forgive me)
4. You know what the word toy-etic means thanks to George Lucas.
-No, I don’t. Uh-oh.
5. Full screen DVDs give you a headache.
-Ha! True! So true! The subtitles give me headaches, too. Well, unless I’m watching a film in a language other than English or really-slowly-enunciated-Spanish, I don’t need the captions. Forces me to listen, see.
6. You curse the weather because production or not, it will always be against you.
-I just love rain — so inspiring to write novels. Not in the rain, of course, as my notebook would melt, and I’d get fried from touching my computer. Am I making sense? Apparently not. Moving on…
7. You respect the Harry Potter movies more so than the books because of ‘its sheer cinematic craft.’
-Heck no. I don’t even like the movies! Unless you’re talking about Azkaban, of course, which was very well made (unlike 1 and 2, which were childish; or 4, which was nice but hurried). Books rule. TOLKIEN RULES!!! But I like Harry, too. But TOLKIEN RULES! But Harry’s nice, too. But…
8. You’ve heard every excuse an actor can give you about not memorizing their lines.
-I’ve gotten a good number of excuses about why my students couldn’t submit their lab reports on time. No, wait, I was really strict back then, so I got only a few. I won’t be a director one day, but I’ll be an actress, and I SWEAR I will memorize my lines!
9. You’re the only one who watches the Special Features on a DVD.
-HAHAHAHAHAHA! That is so me! I especially love the interviews and trailers of coming movies.
10. You can go to a movie alone.
-Given that my mom and dad want to rest on Saturdays, and my sister finds movies boring — yes. So true. I realized this in college, and it’s something I love doing, going to movies alone — though it was disconcerting when I went out to watch A Very Long Engagement, and found myself seated between two pairs of couples. Ew. Ugh.
11. You get the M. Night Shyamalan American Express commercial because you’ve been in a restaurant before and thought the same thing.
-I’ve heard about this commercial! This is the one where he makes stories out of everyone he sees, right? I don’t know if I do this, but I sure do write my novels in restaurants! Hehehe…making no sense, as usual. This diary really IS my ode to weirdness!
12. You’re tired of M. Night Shyamalan.
-No I’m not! But I like Mel Gibson better.
13. You wish you can write an ending in your next screenplay as clever as M. Night Shyamalan but then you remember reason number 12.
-I just wish I could write his endings. Period. And I wish I could write screenplays, too, but as it stands, I simply write novels that can be turned into screenplays. Wonderful. Now, all I need is…Hollywood. All I need is for Hollywood to listen.
14. Like it or not, Spielberg is still the man.
-YEAH! I so agree!
But I like Mel Gibson better.
15. During productions, you can go on without eating or sleeping but when you’re on hiatus, you complain that you never eat or get any sleep . . .
-So applies to me, too, except that this happens when I write my novels.
16. Your money goes to DVDs because you honestly believe they’re your textbooks.
-My money goes to coffee because I love sipping it while writing. That’s why I’m like this (jump, jump, bounce, bounce).
17. You watch a music video and you say to yourself, “hell, I could have directed that!”
-James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” should’ve starred me, Orlando Bloom, and Ioan Gruffudd. Nickelback’s “Far Away” should’ve shown outtakes from The Romantic, with me and Jesse Spencer.
I should also shut up and stop making myself look stupid.
18. You hate to admit that even after cinematography and lighting classes, you still for the life of you can’t read a friggin’ light meter. This is why you have a DP because then you can just tell him to ‘bump it up,’ or ‘bring it down’ and he’ll know exactly what you mean.
-No, I don’t know exactly what this means.
19. Or you skip the light meter/DP crap all together and be your own DP because you know you’ll just end up arguing with that DP anyway.
-MOVING ON…
20. You know the phone number to your local film commission by heart.
-We have a local film commission?
21. MovieFone is on your speed dial, too.
-We don’t have MovieFone, so there.
22. Yes, you pull the director card when you have to and enjoy uttering the words, “but I’m the director and I said so.”
-Cue to Inez pulling out a sample of her novel and saying, “Imagine that.” (Private joke on how to get back at a certain publisher who lambasted her book summaries. Long story, never mind.)
23. Half the time, you’ll second-guess you ever said that.
-Said what?
24. You have a favorite film composer.
-James Horner! Whee!
25. You don’t believe in a project being finished. You’ll always find something you wish you could fix.
-See, this is why I pray EVERY NIGHT that I can let Sanctuary and The Romantic go. The editing just never ends.
26. You promise you’ll make more serious films come next project.
-The way it’s going, I keep on churning out more fun novels.
27. You have the utmost respect for animation.
-No, not really. I do have the utmost respect for graphic designers and visual effects specialists though.
28. You honestly believe that the title design can make or break your film.
-Hahaha! YES! It’s something I love putting in my wannabe screenplays. I was agonizing over Senator, and I couldn’t get past the first 1 minute, given my concentration on how to put the title forth. Nicee also promptly scolded me, hehe.
29. You’re always pitching. Either that or someone’s always pitching something at you.
-This reminds me…where are the agents I’ve been querying?
30. You always have a friend or relative who comes up to you and says “can I be in your movie?”
-So far, no one’s come up to me to say, “Can I be in your novel?” They actually ask, and with trepidation, “Am I in your novel?”
31. You always have a friend or relative who comes up to you and says “what kind of movies do you make, porn?” then chuckles as if he/she was the first one ever to come up with that lame-ass joke.
-I usually volunteer the information to wake people up. “What’s your novel about?” Inez: “Sex, sex, and more sex.” That usually widens a few eyes.
Sex, sex, and more sex? In Inez’s novels? NEVER! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS! IN A GAZILLION YEARS! NEVER!
32. “Interesting” isn’t the compliment you’re looking for after a screening.
-I usually look for “I want to be your agent and make you a star.” No takers? No one? Sigh.
33. No one will ever get your experiments in cinema but you. Not even your own cast and crew.
-I felt the same way about my graduate thesis.
34. You can tell a fake ‘smile and nod’ from an honest ‘smile and nod.’
-So true. I guess this comes with the territory, in making a sentence sound like it was grinned out than smiled out. Ha! Go me!
35. Despite the ups and downs, you can’t think of doing anything else for the rest of your life.
-And that’s my biggest problem now.
FINE! DON’T BELIEVE ME!
April 1, 2005
You know you’re in trouble when you send people this text message:
Sorry for the rush, but please come to my simple church wedding in Sanctuario de San Antonio. Reception will follow at the Peninsula Hotel, Makati at 4 pm on April 31. I’ll expect you there. Thanks.
And you get this reply:
April fools!
So — no one believes that I am capable of getting married? Sure, April fools, as there isn’t a 31 in April. But really — doesn’t anyone BELIEVE that I could be married one day? What is this? Rachel Everdene 2006? Someone kidnap me so I can find my Jonathan!
Can anyone tell I’m joking? Wait, am I?
Just ran “Inez” through The Advertising Slogan Generator on a whim. Strangely, I came up with:
Australians Wouldn’t Give An Inez For Anything Else.
They wouldn’t? Whee — I hope the Australian is named *cough* Jesse Spencer *cough* and he isn’t reading this!
