Whenever I'm feeling sad, God always, always, always does something to make me happy. Or maybe, when I keep closing my eyes to feel the tears streaking down my cheeks, God just reaches out, holds the ends of my salt-slicked lashes, and pulls them up...and then OUCH! suddenly the brightness and the beauty of His love fills my vision, almost too much for my puffy eyes to bear. But as tired as my cried-out eyes are, I keep them open because I know that God has something else to show me, not just the suffocating darkness of my tear-stained eyelids.

I'm saying this now, in the midst of what we college students like to call "hell week," which can last anytime from a day to a whole month (and in my case, it's definitely the latter), because within this period, as He always has, God has given me snatches of the earthly paradise of kababawan.

I present the little things that made me extremely happy these past few weeks:

1. Wa.ter.boys

Sa.to.shi Tsu.ma.bu.ki is an amazing combination of the best traits of people I know, and I love him for it! This Japanese film is one of the cutest, most enjoyable, and most mindless movies ever! And that is exactly why I loved it!

My "Wotaabouizuu" in all their grinning glory!
Plus my own graphic of one of my favorite scenes in the film: the cutest, most kilig moment ever!!! What a lucky girl.

2. Fangirlness

Adrien Brody is a HOT.

Nope, that's NOT a typo. It's my way of expressing how much I love him...because of his hotness, he makes the adjective a noun unto itself... "a hot" indeed.

3. MEEEYUUUZEIK!

Give me music, fast music, big band music! (Because I hate all that slow, acoustic crap. I'll take slow music if it's part of a film/tv show's OST...a piece with memories attached.)

Because I'm a CLOSET DANCER. (Errr..in case that didn't sound right, it just means that I LOVE TO DANCE, mostly when I think nobody's watching.) And because Alex Kap.ran.os is such a great writer. Yeah, he is. HE IS!

3a. Meeeyuuuzeik: THE BL.OOM.FIE.LDS!!!

I don't think anybody understands just how much I appreciate this wonderful band, so I'll pour my heart out here:

Just when last Friday was turning out to be one of the worst days ever (I was soooo stressed with LFC, walked around Katipunan and its printing stores for around 3 hours without any progress with my work, cried buckets because of it and because of my friends' inadvertent actions, tired puffy face and all), my brother, thank God for him that day, convinced me to push through with the Adamo gimmick at K.atips.

So I went with him, way late for my friends' gig, and stayed all throughout the fashion shows and other bands (although I did enjoy those bands). But during the whole thing, I kept thinking that I just wanted to go home where a bunch of work was still waiting for me. I was so tired and stressed and out of place.

And then THEY arrived: 5 guys in old-fashioned navy blue baston suits and red ties. At this point, 2 of my friends, big fans of The Bloom.fi.el.ds, started telling me how great they were. Okay, no problem. But I still wanted to go home.

But then they took the stage and EVERYTHING CHANGED.

Pe.p.e, JJ, Louie (also known as Gino Jose...hahaha joke!), Roc.ky, and La.kan

With their sheer talent, pure energy, and contagious passion, The Bloom.fie.lds completely swept me off my feet. Really. They took the songs of my childhood, one spent under my father's regime of old music, and transformed them into something that I realized that I might have loved all along. Did that make sense?

I don't care. All I know is that I found myself smiling. My swollen eyes and puffy face brightened and I smiled the biggest and the longest smile I have had in a while, even as I was left all alone at my table when everyone else went home.

And in the middle of all that fun, in between my delighted shrieks, fangirlish screams, joyful laughter, and enthusiastic applause (ang dami nun ah...haha), I wasn't the only one who smiled.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at one point, for a looong moment, JJ (the one that I liked the most at the time) actually walked forward while playing the guitar, and... SMILED AT ME!

For most people, including all the ones to whom I've told this story, that smile was nothing. Umiiral lang ulit ang kababawan ko. But you have to understand that at that moment, after such an awful day, that smile was the sweetest, most welcome sight I had ever seen.

And before that, the ever-so-cute, ever-smiling P.ep.e also bestowed a sweet little smile on me. With that kind of rapport with an awed audience, the best kind of talent (Ro.cky was a-ma-zing!!!), and the kind of energy that doesn't run out, The Bloom.fie.lds turned my day around and made me the happiest girl that night.

So I just had to tell them. Hahaha...after their won-der-ful performance, I went up to them (along with the other fan people) and shook JJ's hand. I just had to let them know how much their show meant to me, so I thanked them for making me happy after such a bad day. And of course, a photo opp didn't hurt. ;)

So there. Less than 24 hours later, I was at their next gig, trying to hide myself behind the few people, most of them really old, who turned up to watch them. Yeah, fangirl alert! But that gig was just a testament of their talent, because they really quadrupled (more than that) the amount of people when they started playing! Great choreography, guys!

"P.ep.e, it's your turn to sing. So guys, P.epe has a question for all of you."

Next scene: P.ep.e singing "Do you love meeee?!"

But of course!

4. FILM: Pride and Prejudice

Cinematography and art direction:
The beauty of PRIDE and PREJUDICE

It's official: this film has entered my top ten list of the best films ever! 3 words: directing and cinematography. The imagery was breathtaking; if I were to make screencaps from every second of the film, I would get a very large portfolio of an extremely talented photographer. That's how beautiful this film is. Excellent framing and composition, wonderful directing.

This is how I would like to make a movie. I was amazed to find out that the director (as well as the director of photgraphy) is actually a man! The way he visually captured the essence of each emotion within every scene produced an exquisitely nuanced film. Beautiful!!! *clap clap clap...teary eyes*

Speaking of praise and acclaim, I firmly believe that this film should have been nominated for Best Cinematography at the 78th Academy Awards! (Tanggalin na ang New World!) I was also rooting for P&P to win at least one of the awards for which it was nominated: Best Musical Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design. Unfortunately, it didn't win anything. (But it won my heart, and that's what matters. Hahaha!)

And let's not forget the story and the delightfully witty script( Thanks to Em.ma Wat.son who actually did an uncredited rewrite of the script! That woman is so smart.), which leads us to acting. Keira Knight.ley, ever so beautiful, definitely deserved her Oscar nomination, while Matthew M.ac.Fad.yen's cutely GOF Mr. Darcy did not disappoint.

Some of my FAVORITE SCENES:
Lizzy walking away from a barado Mr. Darcy, THE hand scene at the carriage, THE indicative DARCY HAND FLEX, the "what-is-that" Darcy GOF-ness, the almost-but-not-really-kiss, and the hilarious Bennett ladies!

And for more *kiliiiiiiiig* screams:

The dance in which the whole world disappeared, the scene that made it "the best movie ever," lucky Lizzy, and the beautiful sunrise of their relationship. (Haha) *dies*

And so we move on to the Oscars, in which I knew Keira ganda wouldn't really bring home the Best Actress award (but I rooted for her anyway). I have to say that this year, I was more excited about the "technical" awards more than the acting. The race for Best Editing, Best Musical Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing/Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Original/Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography kept me on the edge of my seat more than the fairly predictable Actor/Actress awards.

I really wanted Munich to bring home an award because I believe in the power of this film. I was also very proud of King Kong and The Constant Gardener, both of which received appropriate nominations. And of course, let's not forget CRASH, the film of the year! *Clap clap clap* for beating Brokeback Mountain! But Brokeback deserved the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, which was truly an amazing feat for the writers, as well as Best Musical Score! *Clap clap clap*

Yay! More *clap clap clap* for the nominees and winners. Even though it didn't win anything...right now, Pride and Prejudice is my own Best Picture.

5. Starbucks!

(Whew, I can't believe I got back to the list.) Despite the considerable thinning of my wallet and the addition of more late marks to my class attendance,I would still like to thank the Amigas and OchoUno/Tianx who made me frequent Starbucks and discover my favorite drinks: Hot White Choco.late Mo.cha and Apple Berry Juice Freeze! Those two beverages are poles apart, but I love them both!

+ PRAISE BE TO YOU, O LORD, KING OF ETERNAL HAPPINESS! +