The Sunbaked King

…and then I don’t feel so bad.

MOVIES

I can only recall three instances when I went to watch a movie in the theater alone. The first was in high school, and it was an experiment I’ve always wanted to do then. I had to experience how it felt like to be seated in a dark movie theater with no one beside you, and the only companion you had were the characters on the screen. So I did it. The movie? Save the Last Dance, starring Julia Stiles and this black dude. Years later, I would find myself seated in the theater by my lonesome once again, but because of Filipino-cheesy-films phobia more than anything else. No one wanted to accompany me in watching Because of You (starring the VW Beetle, remember that movie?), and I really wanted to see how the Hero-Sandara tandem would fare, so I watched it by myself. Later on, after I gave my glowing review, somebody was finally persuaded to watch the movie again with me. The last instance, as far as I could remember, was brought on by a need to recover– it was a most painful heartbreak, and I needed to get away, at least temporarily. The Devil Wears Prada was perhaps the perfect solution for that profound loneliness. Never mind if I was crying at the wrong parts, or the slightest tinge of emotion from Anne Hathaway had me sobbing like crazy. What mattered was that I found an escape from the pain.

Honestly, I don’t like going to movies alone. For me, watching films on the silver screen is a shared activity. It’s almost like Mass, come to think about it– you go there as a community, but it’s rude to talk to each other while you’re there. Same thing with movies. It’s a more complex experience when you’re with family or friends (or a date). Something very amazing and refreshing happens when people with different perspectives converge to watch one single thing.

Of course, all this might just be a front from the real reason that watching movies alone makes me feel alone.

In any case, good thing that none of my top 10 movies of 2009 were watched under such dire circumstances. Here they are. [You can't read all the text in the normal view. Click on FS to have the gallery play on full screen, and click the "i" on the upper-right corner to read the text. Besides, the movie posters look a lot cooler in full-scale.]

…and then I don’t feel so bad.

TV

When Pinoy Big Brother first piqued our voyeuristic natures back in 2005, my roommate and I decided that it was time to buy ourselves a television. Pay wasn’t that good; I just graduated from college then, and was just a few months into corporate slavery working as a management associate for an insurance company. Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist the lure of mindless entertainment. So off to SM we went, choosing the best television set that we could afford given our limited cash. We ended up buying a bulky 21” Sanyo TV. High def what? Flat screen what?

After 4 years, Pinoy Big Brother is now at its third regular season. Shortly after The Big Reveal, my roommate and I decided that it was time to buy ourselves a new TV. He was now working, and I was considerably better off than I was in 2005. Armed with my new credit card, we headed off to Rockwell where we bought the best television set that my credit limit could take. We ended up buying a sleek 32″ Toshiba LCD TV.

Of course, right after tweaking the necessary techie thingamajig, we plopped down on the bed and watched as Rica and Rob pretended they were lovers. Some things never change.

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN GALLERY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.)

…and then I don’t feel so bad.

(No more April yearend entries this time. Gosh, that was lame.)

MUSIC

Tonight, I will be deleting all the music in my iPod and will start the painstaking task of building my portable music database once again. This will entail 1) said deletion; 2) replacing the corrupted album art with workable ones; 3) selecting my favorite tracks from each album I have downloaded (I download by album most of the time); 4) attaching the workable album art to these tracks; and 5) transferring all the files to my iPod Touch. Now that work’s starting once again, I don’t think I’ll be able to accomplish this before the end of the month, but the deletion will have to take place tonight. Just so I know there’s nothing in there for me, and unless I act, music will no longer reach my ears.

Before I do that, though, I have to pay homage to the singles that made my 2009 a more musical year to be in (Don’t forget to click the “i” on the upper-right corner, OK?):

If you’re a weird person like me, you’ll probably have a ranking of your most favorite years in the past decade. If not, you’ll still have an inkling, more or less, of the Year My Life Sucked The Most, or the Year My Life Took A Stupendous Turn. There are certain events in the past decade that are utterly unforgettable, and these events are of the type that attach themselves to a particular year. Sometimes, when the circumstances are too extreme, they attach themselves to a specific date.

2009 is one of the great years. Stepping out of the country for the first time, conquering my third local actuarial exam, resigning and moving to another company that provides better opportunities, and not having my love life as a primary personal concern– I don’t know how this year could have been any better. In fact, 2009 was awash with so many wonderful things that it has established itself as one of 3 best years this decade, right after 2002¹ and 2005².

Now, in the tradition of The Sunbaked King’s Yearend Series, here’s a blow-by-blow account of the events of the past year. I’ll keep it short, just to have the entire thing fit in a single post. (And since I’m spending $60 a year on this baby, might as well take advantage of it by incorporating some of the bells and whistles that come with the exorbitant price tag. Don’t forget to click the “i” on the upper right corner to see the note that’s attached with each photo!³)