Time Machine by yabyik

Time is precious. Time is a treasure. Time is gold. The only thing you can never gain back is time. That’s why, it must not be wasted. Everyone knows how important time is. All of us must be very careful in using it. Despite this awareness, not everyone uses his or her time properly. I admit that I am one of those people who have trashed too much opportunities and chances in life. Moreover, I know, everyone wishes to have another chance to turn back time and change the past.

What if, time machines really exist? Where are you going to use it? What part of your past, would you possibly go? If and only if, I would be given an opportunity to possess a time machine, I will not use it to go back to my childhood days. The times where I am still not aware of the painful realities in life. Where my life is out of worries, anxieties, and pain. I also do not intend to turn time back to my most successful days. The times when I felt that, I am the best, where different achievements had become a collection. There is also no turning back to the most cheerful moments of my life. The times when mom and I were still okay and nothing built between us but love. Those were also the times where my mother had become my idol, my guide, my protector, and most especially, my best friend. Even though, until now I’m still confused on how mom and I reached the point of treating each other as strangers, I won’t go back there.

If I possess a time machine, where am I going to use it? I have experienced lots of vicissitudes in my life. I’m also one of the limited persons, who luckily got the chance to taste perfection. Neither will I ever use the time machine just to change nor to maintain them. If there is only one thing in my past, where I would choose to go with the use of time machine, the only thing that I love to experience repeatedly, is the time when I had my first dance with my father. It is the most unforgettable; most cherished, and will always be the happiest memory I could have. That was the time when I realized my worth. Dad made me feel that moment that despite trials and sufferings, I could overcome them all. He taught me how to become strong on the weakest part of myself. He made me believe that nothing and no one can stop me in living on my own. He opened my eyes to let me see that living in this world is not the worst. He made me feel that I am not a mistake.

I’ve danced a lot of person before but no one can replace the way dad danced with me, because that moment, I knew, inside my heart, I was loved. No one can love me like my father did. If through this device I could get another chance to feel that love once more, I will never waste it. My longing to hold him again is breaking me into pieces. If fate could just allow me to have one more chance to be with my father, surely I will grab it. If I could just steal one final glance, one final step, and another dance with him…I would probably play an endless song, because I know, it’s the only way, I could feel his unconditional love again.

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Yabyik - A kind and sensible girl, bright in school and is always prepared for any trouble that may come. Naughty but sweet and has a cute smile. simple, moody but easy to be with. She likes to eat but she never gain weight. She spends her time at home sleeping, watching movies, and listening to music.

Bessie by golly wow by queenzheska

A bestfriend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you, someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else. Bessie friend, are the one's who wipe the tears and hold your hand while everyone else just stands around asking what happened? Bessie friend, are hard to find harder to leave and impossible to forget. They can tell you things you don't want to tell to yourself, the one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.


They are like stars, you don't always see them but you know they're always there. Life's journey is easier when you hear a friends footsteps beside you.Bessie friend, is the kind of person who you can walk up to with the biggest smile on your face and they still ask "what's wrong?" They are the person who sees the pain in your eyes when the rest of the world believes the smile on your face. They are my true friends when two friends can walk in opposite directions and yet remain side by side.


Reasons why we need bessie friends. One, you can't ride a seesaw by yourself. Two,you need a screaming buddy while watching scary movies. Three, playing patintero or tumbang preso not as much fun with your dog. Four, you need someone to gush and discuss what your crush meant when he said "hi" and waved. Five, how else will you use up your stationery and sticker collection if not to write long letters to friends? Six, you get to drag someone when you're too shy to do something on your own. Seven, you've got a sure partner for all school projects and events. Ironically true right? funny isn't it? Sometimes i wonder what my life would be like without them, then i thank god i only have to wonder.


My bessie friends, they understand when i say forget it. They wait forever when i say just a minute. Stand by my side when i say leave me alone. They just listen for how many hours when i'm crying on the phone. Yeah, we laugh too hard, act too immature but i wouldn't have it any other way. It's those times we go so crazy, people think were high. The times we make each other laugh until we cry. All those inside jokes and annoying activities that we shared, those are all reasons were call us BESSIE FRIENDS.


Being a good bessie friend, is not always about stopping each other from making mistakes but its always about being there after the mistakes. Bessie friend know how stupid you are and still choose to be seen with you in public. Friendship is what gets you through the bad times and help you enjoy the good times.


I love my crazy, idiotic, annoying, funny, amazing, clothes stealing, secret keeping, honest, loyal and retarded bessie friends. We will be friends as long as stars twinkle in the sky as long as angels are there up high 'till oceans run dry 'till the day i die..

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queenzheska is a good girl but most of the time kinda retarded,she's music lover so if you are interested and if you want to be one of her bessie friends come on! Let's rock and roll!

Three Japanese Movies

For so long now, I've been trying to write so many things about my current adventures. Sadly, the sun always sets down even before I could begin painting my thoughts in words. No one could really stop the earth from its rotation and the sun will always have to sleep to regain its strength; fortunately, this ball of fire will certainly rise up again the next day to mark a new beginning for sentence and paragraph weaving.

I want to learn writing with great passion. So, every time I write article, essay, or poem, I would like to feel that I am writing a masterpiece worth cherishing for a lifetime. It is as if they are gems that will require constant polishing, a treasure of great semantic arrangements. But more than my written works’ linguistic characteristics, I prefer to read them over and over again because of the lessons deeply imbued in each of their letters, which serve as strands of a literary fabric intricately woven into a clothing that will give me warmth and strength in case I encounter rain – or hurricane – in the future.

For now, I particularly want to write about the movies I have watched from the recently concluded 2009 Japanese Film Festival. It was held last July at the Shangri-La Hotel – free admission.

I have seen almost all the eight featured films except Always-Sunset on Third Street and Tony Takitani. Three of these eight films emerged to be my most favorite -- Memories of Tomorrow (Yukihiko, 2006), Kamome Dinner (Naoko, 2006), and Mind Game (Yuasa, 2004). The other films, such as the Memories of Matsuko, The Milkwoman, and Turn Over-An Angel Is Coming on a Bicycle, are almost as good as the three, but not equally memorable for me.

Memories of tomorrow is a story on how short life is – a passing mist that will appear in a moment and will disappear even faster. Life is as weak as the spider’s web that in a gentle touch will suddenly collapse. However, knowing this universal truth is different from feeling it. And feeling it unnecessarily mean it is strongly being reinforced in my heart. But because of Memories’ medium and message, I have not only understood the fragility of life – I have also felt it with a strong reinforcement. I realized that no matter how successful a man is in this mundane world, he will perish like nothing – a pitiful creature.

Although life is delicate, there is no reason to be pessimistic. It might be short, but there is a way to make it happy and contented, which is the main message of Kamome Dinner. The story, plot, development, cinematography, and screenplay all boil down to a simple yet strong message – a message that can be summed up through the line of one the characters: “Why are the Finish happy and relaxed?” The other character replied: “Maybe because of their forests?” Perhaps, some may wonder why such mediocre line deeply caught my attention. Well, it is because, like the character, I am looking for something that could make me happy. And while watching the film, I have come to a realization that all I have to do to be relaxed. Finding happiness is settling with what is right – remove from my heart anger, envy, jealousy, and sadness. I have to eliminate the feeling that I have been a victim of grave injustice – because I have not been and will never be. Always having the feeling that I have been gravely punished makes me feel so heavy that I can no longer breathe at times. It is as if I want to cry all day. So, I shall pray. Settle with the basic of life. Drink coffee in my seat. Do my job well. Study hard. Teach with love and concern. And at the end of the day, pray again for prayer is the first and last step.

Kamome simply says the becoming happy is easy. Our dreams need not to be grand. Our dreams could be as simple as wanting to feed people with good food and seeing them smile in every bite. But with a simple dream, we could find great happiness and immense contentment.

Last, but certainly not the least – Mind Game. Mind Game is an animation about a group of people trapped in a big fish. I could tell you the whole story and bore you or tell you the lesson which you could use as you travel in this world. Life is full of great challenges. We might be trapped in a situation where escape may be seemingly impossible. But that is not true. No matter how impossible it may be, there will always be opportunities to win over it. All we need is determination and will. No matter how we perceived our situation to be hopelessly miserable, there will always be chances for us to escape from it and enjoy freedom and happiness.

So, I guess that would be enough. Three stories I would want to get back in the future. I hope to always remember their lessons.

Eiga Sai 2009

We have learned that films are great mediums for learning. Just be sure of the "right choice and treatment." Last month, we had French Film Festival. This month, its Japanese's turn to entertain and teach us through their great films. And like the previous festival sponsored by the French Embassy, Eiga Sai 2009 will be providing screenings to us for free. And what could be greater than free passes in a nice film theater? None, right? So, what are we waiting for.

Click this site for the screening schedules or this site for more details about the event. Find some time to watch!

Movie: An Effective Medium to Teach Language

One prevalent reason why most students are discouraged to study English is their wrong perception that it is boring and tedious. They would rather go to cinemas and watch their favorite blockbuster films rather than study the rules of subject and verb agreement. Most of the time, like these students, I find myself in the same difficult situations. I know that my professors are doing their best to come up with the best possible methods to effectively teach English. However, I cannot solely leave everything to their hands. College life is no longer like the elementary and high school years when almost everything was spoon fed. I should ask not only a fish to live a day but to explore the possibility of learning how to fish to live a lifetime.

I was thinking that my love for watching good films and my need to be proficient in English can be fulfilled both at the same time. I do not need to set aside one to accomplish the other or vice versa. I could watch my favorite movie while simultaneously learning English. In fact, in a study conducted by David Wood (1997), it has been proven that movies are effective mediums to teach language and culture among students. It says that language teaching through the aid of movies has great benefits, including the improvement of the students’ tolerance to ambiguity while supporting ability to independently study the language; the enhancement of the students’ analytical skills; and the motivation of vocabulary expansion.

There is an important reminder though. With the great number of movies that are easily accessible to students these days, a “careful selection and treatment” is necessary to ensure that the aimed learning result will be successfully achieved.

In the age of electronic media, there is no better way to lengthen the students' attention span and focus but through the things that interest them the most. In my case, since I love watching good films, I will take this opportunity to reinforce language learning to myself, and I will treat each movie as a chance to be exposed to communication skills development.

Speaking of language learning through films, the 14^th French Film Festival was recently launched at Shang-rila Cineplex, featuring award-winning movies produced and directed by critically acclaimed French film makers. The festival has provided and will still be providing free movie screenings until June 14, 2009. I have watched Van Gogh, Jean dela Fontaine, Ca Brule, and Flandres so far.

To guide you with the event, this entry on Business World, entitled Viva la France, may help you know more about the films. Also, you may click this link for the screening schedule.

By the way, form the movies you have watched, which one do you think should we not miss? Can you please post a brief synopsis about it?

Reference:

Wood, D. (1997). Culture and Language Teaching -- A Case Study. Journal of Chikushi Jogakuen University, 105 - 125.