The success of a Halloween party is directly proportional to the amount of tears generated by the visiting children.
The company Halloween party, I must say, was very successful.
The Set-up:
The Preparation:
The Zombies/Other Characters:
The Children:
The Aftermath:
Yep. All in a day’s work.
Happy Halloween! :)
Happy to share that my short story, “Departures”, will be appearing in the online issue of the Philippines Free Press. (The magazine will be strictly online in the meantime, I’m told.) It is my shortest story to date: around 3,000 words.
Free Press’s literary ed is Joel Toledo, also one of the judges in this year’s Palanca Awards for the poetry category. While replying to him I was reminded of the citation he sent me shortly after the award winners were announced:
1st prize: “Maps”
In terms of a firm handling of theme and focus on its chosen subject, this entry readily emerges as the judges’ unanimous first-placer. Yet more than being thematic, it comes across as a suite driven by a precise, almost journalistic tone. The lines leave no room for meandering; they coalesce, but with a grounded temperance: one that distrusts rhetoric and points to vivid, charged images. It maps out a terrain recovering from disaster, the poet’s eye never losing focus, unearthing and patiently collecting what is left behind.
Right now, in my head, a new story. Now to find the time and energy to hunker down and write it.
I should make my weekends more productive (especially writing-wise) but hey, movies!
Hello Stranger
Two Thai nationals meet during a trip in South Korea. One is a big fan of Korean teledramas, while the other does not see the appeal of watching cliched plots and crying as if “someone back home just died”. An unfortunate event involving alcohol and a missed tourist bus ride brings them together, and they are forced to tour Seoul while refusing to know each other’s names. Funny and touching. Mocks and embraces Korean culture. Just a bit too long for my romantic attention span.
Horrible Bosses
I enjoyed this film, okay, simply because I love all the actors involved in the project, but I don’t think it’s dark comedy. It’s not dark enough. It’s just silly. Nothing is of great consequence. They even ended with a blooper reel.
Next
A small-time magician has the power to look into the future – but only two minutes ahead. My siblings really liked this, and I heard it’s based on a Philip K. Dick short story, but I watched it waiting for the awesomeness to begin but I was just bored.
Pulse (remake)
I saw the Japanese version years ago, and I don’t remember it being this simple and straightforward. I remember the Japanese version giving me a headache. A good one. Dread from disorientation. The remake’s entertaining enough, but it doesn’t stay with you.
Friends with Benefits
Surprisingly delightful with lots of bright moments, but still copied the rom-com tropes it was trying to subvert.
Merchandise is everywhere and the house is a bit of a mess (it smells really good, considering), but boy am I glad to be home.
This is the master bedroom. We have a storeroom downstairs, and the products that were salvaged from the flood were moved here for the meantime.
First floor. At its highest, the flood reached the fifth step. Notice the ruined table and the ruined door.
Our cat and two dogs were alive but our pet chicken unfortunately drowned. :(
If I were my parents, I’d had saved the chicken first, had some eggs along with the cans of sardines. Or fried chicken, when it came to that.
I’m kidding! I’ll miss that chicken.
But a happy kind of madness!
Via snail mail:
Thank you thank you thank you Rose and Shweta! (I think I owe you a poem.)
Via e-mail:
Eliza,
We would like to publish your story, “Fairy Tales”, in Daily Science Fiction. We’ll email a contract to you shortly for your approval. A sample email, including any edits to your story that may be necessary, will come later. The edits will be sent with enough time for your feedback, so we may resolve any issues and present the best possible story to our audience.
– Jonathan & Michele, Daily Science Fiction
PS If for any reason, you no longer wish to publish this story with us (e.g, forgotten prior publication, actually authored by a Unicorn, etc.), now would be a very good time to let us know!
No unicorns were involved in the making of this story!
On top of all the happy news, I’ll finally be able to go home to Bulacan and see my parents. Wish me a safe trip. (Some roads are still flooded, I’m told.)
Happy Friday, everyone!
I’ve been keeping this a secret for a while now. Remember: October 28, 6 pm, Sputnik Comics, Cubao. Hope you can attend with your friends and family. (Actually, I hope I’ll be able to attend. It’s a Friday night, and there’s work. I’ll do my best.)
Please spread the word!
We were in Tagaytay on our first year together. To celebrate our second year (exact date is tomorrow, a Monday) we just stayed in the metro and enjoyed a buffet lunch at Beurre Blanc.
Price is P650 per head, exclusive of service charge. We got a 10 percent discount because we got seated before 12 noon. (You’ll get a 5 percent discount if you use a credit card instead of paying in cash.)
They have a small selection, but we enjoyed the dishes a lot. Our favorites: beef shortribs, salmon carpaccio, baked oyster, top blade fillet, tomato mozzarella salad, ravioli, and banoffee (really really good). And I loved their sauces: barbecue, mushroom gravy, pepper cognac!
Another great lunch with this silly boy:
I want more of this banoffee!
This lunch was made possible by a couple of kind people living oceans away. Thank you. :)
*
A kiss for more happy years.
Eliza Victoria 