Kanlaon

(The reason there is a movie tag on this post is because self does mention a movie, towards the end. Just saying)

Very early this morning, self was about to post a second set of photos relating to this week’s Photo Challenge, NEW.

Instead, she decided to wander around outside, in absolute bone-chilling cold, because she felt so guilty about neglecting her garden for so many weeks. Actually, self prefers to garden in the early morning, because none of her neighbors are up yet. There’s one in particular who seems to time his gardening for self’s, and self simply hates to chat when she is gardening. She just wants to dig in peace. Hear that, neighbor? Self just wants to dig in peace. Go back to bed!

She was having such a nice morning weeding, and then she heard the screen door to the neighbor’s backyard sliiiiiide open ever sooooo slowly, which meant the games were about to begin. Uh, no. Self threw her trowel to the ground and re-entered the house. It wasn’t even 8 a.m.

It’s a good thing there is fan fiction available for self’s reading pleasure, or she would be in a foul foul mood and scowling like a maniac at this very moment.

After a few short minutes of trolling, self just found a very good one. It’s set 25 years after the rebellion. The new rulers send a star reporter to 12, to interview Katniss Everdeen aka “The Mockingjay.”

An excerpt:

“I didn’t love Peeta for a very long time — that was all for the cameras.”

The bombshell hits hard. The love story of Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen is a staple of any drama about the revolution. Probably the best known version is Fire and Ashes, Gale Hawthorne’s first feature film, which is the only one so far, critics say, to get to the heart of the desperation felt by the rebels. The reunion scene has topped 100 Best Lists for the better part of a decade.

“Yeah,” says Katniss Everdeen. “People have always wanted to write their own stories about me and Peeta.” I feel suddenly that I am only the latest in a long line, that Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are almost fictional now. We have written and re-written their story so many times that they belong more to myth than to reality.

And, speaking of myth, yesterday self watched “Into the Woods.” Self loves movies, as dear blog readers well know. But she especially loves watching movies at night. In the local Century 20. Usually, the streets are very dead, especially right after the holidays. But, as was the case last night, in the evening there are tons of moviegoers, lining up for tickets in the lobby. And the cine-plex feels very festive. After the movie, it’s full dark and the restaurants around are full of people. So, these are the restaurants adjacent to the Century 20: Quinto Sol (which draws by far the most customers), Sakura Teppanyaki, La Tartine, Arya Global Cuisine, Mandaloun and, a little bit of a walk, but self absolutely loves this place (which had a line out the door last night), I Dumpling. I Dumpling is very wee, only has about eight tiny tables, and that’s why it always has lines out the door.

It was a lot of fun walking around outside last night (No skateboarders. Do dear blog readers know how nice that is?). The crowd watching “Into the Woods” was also very “into” the movie, which usually triples self’s viewing pleasure. For instance, they actually clapped after the scene where Chris Pine as Prince Charming, and a young blonde guy playing his brother, rip open their shirts and sing a song about being in love, while making frequent use of the word “agony.”

Chris Pine, it turns out, is very good at hamming it up. Cheesy much?

Nah. Last night’s audience lapped it up.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.