Kanlaon

Admittedly, self has not used her time all that wisely while hubby is in Manila.

She should have been doing loads and loads of writing.

Instead, she:

Drove to San Luis Obispo, where she watched “Cloverfield” and then spent some aimless hours wandering the Embarcadero in Morro Bay with son (after all the shops and restaurants had closed)

Watched “Colma, the Musical”

Fantasized about getting admitted to a residency in some exotic location like Liguria (While not actually filling out any application forms)

Since today is Sunday (admittedly, a Day of Rest), self has decreed that tonight will be “Movie Night.” It all started when she landed on F/X and found herself watching Spidey 2. Self had no idea she would find it all so involving. James Franco and William Dafoe must be the cutest father-son team since, since — since Brando and Pacino in “The Godfather”? Or Christian Bale and son in “3:10 to Yuma”?. And Alfred Molina is very funny and manages to find a human heart inside those waving steel tentacles.

So, self decides that she’s going to go to San Carlos. Why? Because it gets exceedingly boring staying home all day if there is no one to talk to. And in San Carlos, self does the following:

Finds the only thing worth buying for $2.25 in The Chef Shop on Laurel Street: a 26.5 oz. bottle of Italian rock salt.

Rents “Rescue Dawn” from Blockbuster because a) it is directed by Werner Herzog; b) stars Christian Bale; c) is a Vietnam “escape” movie, and therefore not depressing and d) Star, fellow fellow at VCCA last August, highly recommended it

Drops all her coins into a sidewalk newspaper stand so she can get a copy of the Sunday Chronicle with headline OBAMA WINS BIG IN S. CAROLINA

Now, back home with her treasures, self settles down on couch in front of flat-screen HDTV, removes indie Filipino movie “Cavite” from Netflix packaging, takes out her sewing kit (well, actually hubby’s sewing kit, the very same one that his mum packed for him when he left Manila for Stanford, oh those many many moons ago), and prepares to multi-task.

Holy Cow! This movie has amazing sound. Movie has barely started when self feels she is standing smack-dab in the middle of a busy Manila intersection. And the hero is plain-looking and dark, so self surmises the director must be Fil-Am (for, in Filipino movies self watched while she was growing up, the heroes were always “mestizo” — pale-complexioned and Spanish-looking). The beagles keep cocking their ears whenever a new sound starts up on the screen. These are the very self-same animals who lay asleep all through the terrific sound effects of Spidey 2.

And, one thing self has to say about the device of this film (which also involves a running commentary from an unseen character, much like running commentary in “Cloverfield” — and just as annoying, self might add), it really does work. And, since there is only one actor, running hither and thither, the city (Cavite), too, becomes a character.

And, self has heard her name (”Batchoy”) mentioned several times in this film already, but she believes it is a reference to someone being fat, and not a reference to self (Apologies, dear blog reader, self simply could not resist the urge to make a corny joke!)

Oooh, self is really beginning to enjoy Netflix. She’s going to keep using it to rent Filipino movies. Next one will be a documentary about female overseas workers that she read won an award in the Queens International Film Festival.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.