Plans (which will surely remain as plans)

Since it's summer, I want to do a lot of things. New things, to be exact. Ha ha, I know that's not exactly exact, but let me pass this time. Also, I'm not used to make to-do lists or any related lists. I keep it in my mind, make it spontaneous.

Among the things I'd like to do this summer, here are the exciting ones:

1. Gym membership or simply go to the gym and work out
2. Go scuba-diving in the aquariums
   
3. Take skiing lessons
4. Register in a sports club
5. Desert Safari!

I really wanted to make this as confidential as possible, but I guess I could cut off some slack since it's summer.

For the Gym Membership. Simple. I just want to work out. Nuff said. Scuba-diving seems fun, so yeah. With the sharks, fishes, and manta rays. Yum! Oops. Skiing lessons, for me to go to the top of the hill. I need to have some prior experience and I don't see the need for me to stumble every single time I try to ski. Too bad I won't be able to do this often though. Sports Club. Tennis will do, I like Tennis. Archery will do too, provided I get to wear Oriental clothes. Baah. Desert Safari. Nuff Said. Too bad it's so hot.

As I said earlier in my recent blog post, I'm devastated. Private reasons. So it reflects on my blog. Hey, it's mine after all.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Last Installment

The final installment of the Harry Potter series is now up - with a trailer. Watch it here:

After an extended opening showing Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) approaching Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the trailer blazes through a montage of some of the big action moments in the films: Harry flies over London on Hagrid's motorcycle, runs for his life through the forest, and gets attacked by a giant snake. Harry's friends also get to show their heroic sides, with Hermione (Emma Watson) standing up to a threat with wand drawn, and Ron (Rupert Grint) swinging a sword.

The trailer also gives a look at the epic scope of the movies. It shows the gigantic dragon that guards the vaults of Gringotts Bank. Hogwarts is surrounded by a dome of fiery energy. And the students run away as the school is blasted with explosions. It all leads up to Harry and Voldemort facing off against each other in the courtyard, locked in their climatic battle.

You're not going to get to see that fight, though, for another year. The first part of "The Deathly Hallows" will open in theaters on November 19 of this year, but the second half won't be out until July 15, 2011. That will be nearly 10 years since the first movie hit screens in 2001.

Splitting one massive "Potter" book into two movies isn't a new idea. The filmmakers considered splitting "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" into separate films, but decided instead to trim out many of the novel's subplots and just focus on Harry's story. That wasn't an option for the sprawling final book, so they chose to divide it into halves. Naturally, they did consult with J.K. Rowling first, and she agreed with their decision.

Both parts will be shown in 3D, though they were shot in 2D and will be converted in post-production. Segments of the past two "Potter" films were adapted to 3D, but this is the first time a full movie will undergo the process.

If you think that saying good-bye to Harry Potter will be emotional for you, don't worry, you're not alone. Daniel Radcliffe said in a recent interview that he and his costars were all overwhelmed when they filmed the final shot of the series. He told MTV, "I didn't expect myself to get particularly emotional but I really did." Radcliffe said the last shot he filmed was a simple stunt of him jumping and rolling onto a mat, and when that was finished, "It just was bizarre; really, really strange indeed."

taken from Yahoo! Movies

I hope I won't be disappointed. Why? Because,

1. I have already read the book. I know all the twists and turns, what really happened, the real action, the scenes. Therefore, if an exciting part in the book is dropped in the movie, I shall truly be disappointed. Pretty much like the Half-Blood Prince. Lots of good scenes were omitted.
   
2. The book was such an exciting read. The movie should do it justice.
3. Since it's the last, why need to cut down costs? ha ha ha.

But since it will be divided into two parts, I think it will contain all the vital and critical scenes in the book. I really hope so, since the book was such a page-turner.


This is all I can blog, since I'm pretty much devastated these days. Sick and tired.

A long and endearing vacation

Didn't I say I'm sarcastic? Oh, you weren't informed? Then please, help yourself. The door is over there. Get out of my office and talk to my secretary. You won't? Oh. Security? There's an intruder in my office. Get him out of my office. Right now!

*end of mind theatre*

Well, yes I'm sarcastic, but I'm also sarcastic sarcastic. I don't make sense? Put it this way. You have made a trap. But that trap is also a trap. So, it's a trap 'trap'. Get it now? Good. Therefore, my vacation will be really long. 3 months ain't bad, eh? Yeah, I know. But endearing? No. I'm not bored, but that doesn't mean my vacation's already endearing. As you can see, endearing has another whole lot of definition. And it doesn't define my vacation, sorry.

I'm having fun, yes. Who doesn't like going out into the sun (though it's super hot the sun might actually burn your skin so bad), exploring, going to malls, shopping, videogaming, surfing, and all other stuff related to summer vacation? That person must be nuts. I sorta have it all - in the present. The present doesn't define the future as it doesn't define the past. Whether you're having fun in the present or not, it doesn't guarantee that you'll experience the same in the future. It's like, your attitude today doesn't define your attitude tomorrow. Yeah, it's already proven many times: the only thing that's constant is the world is change.

You could say I'm in shallow water, since it's not really that deep. But oh, curse the Ministry back home for their slow processing of important papers and documents. Don't they know that one's fate is entirely dependent on their hands? I wish they knew how important they are and stop don't giving a penny in their job. I certainly can deduce why our pride has been so painstakingly negative to others. It hurts, when one of your compatriots doesn't consider his pride as a whole, it hurts when one of your compatriots isn't selfless as you are. The question has always been "how far can you go?", yet it remains unanswered.

I have always been aware of fake nationalism. I do not deny it, nor I condemn it. It has always been there. Unseen. Neglected. That it why actions always speak louder than words. Then why are they still doing it, I wonder.

Essais

Apparently, I am to write an essay about my interests and things I'm looking forward to (can't really recall the deets, I'm still busy being a videogamer) in a certain you know, some of you probably went through this stage too (assuming, I am, very vague). I'm having trouble, wondering if that essay is allowed to be printed or supposed to be handwritten, since there's an allotted space in the form (quite spacious, actually), spacious enough for a minimum of 200 words. Well, I know it would be awkward if I were to submit a whole, separate bond paper containing my essay and attach it to the form. Yes, I'm giving you readers the opportunity to call me a dummy. Yes, after you have done some research concerning the processes I needed to get through before coming to this stage. (Hint: ... well I don't like giving hints sometimes too, sorry)

I'm not complaining about writing an essay though, as you might have noticed. What knocks me off is the fact that I have to submit it as soon as possible, since it would still be put into review and proper reading. I don't want to wake up as early as 6 in the morning again. It's summer, I'm supposed to sleep late and wake up late (there you have it, 'stereotyping summer')! I've been waking up rather early this past few days since we always have to go somewhere, and my brain has been screaming " NOOOOOO!!!!" for a while. "I will extract revenge on you if you tire me to death," it said. "NOOOOOO!"

So much for my ideal summer vacation then. Well, things could change. It's just June, for Pete's sake. I just hope July and August wouldn't be hard on me.

Ha-ha, I won't be able to read Eclipse, hurray.

iPhone 4 hype

For those living under a rock, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, recently introduced the newest addition in the Apple family: the iPhone 4. This changes things.. all over again. Apple fanboys and normal people alike are now all palpitating to just get their hands on the newest beauty of Apple.


As much as I don't want to admit this to myself, but I'm disappointed about the release of Apple's iPhone 4. Why? Because I just bought an iPhone 3GS several weeks after it came out - fresh, new, and the talk during that time. I was happy with my iPhone 3GS for several weeks, too, until the iPad came out. I wanted to get my hands on an iPad too (at this point, I don't know whether you can call me an Apple fanboy or not), because a tablet computer really appealed to me. Plus, it's elegant and beautiful. Therefore, a hint of regret. I should have bought a BlackBerry smartphone instead, and bought an iPad afterwards. Really nice combination right? Yeah, I thought so too. Until the iPhone 4 came along anyway.


As Jobs mentioned, this changes things all over again. Yep, that tagline really suits pretty much everything. Everyone has been gaga enough to pre-order their own iPhone 4-s. I cannot help but pity myself a little too, since I was too hasty in buying a phone. And I knew Apple had something in their hands too.


So, enough with the reminiscing of the past. Here in my place, the desert city, almost everyone owns either an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Those who own an iPhone are mostly yuppies and teens, and those who own a BlackBerrry smartphone are mostly businessmen and workers (vice-versa). It's pretty much common to see the person at your right holding an iPhone and the person to your left holding a BB smartphone.


And, when the iPhone 4 was available for pre-orders, everyone took the bait. Yes. Almost. Here's the article.

Apple recently introduced the new iPhone 4. Shortly after that the shiny new iPhone went live in the Apple online shop for pre-order. And Apple fans made proper use of this, they ordered all the stock within less than 24 hours. SOLD OUT!

The pre-order process for the new Apple iPhone had some glitches in it too, the website was not accessible for some, others couldn’t get their orders through.

Just imagine how fast the new iPhone 4 would have sold out without the Apple online store going down?

Now the next event to watch is the official launch of the iPhone 4 on June 24. That is the day when the shiny iPhone goes on sale in the Apple stores in US and some other countries.

One UAE iPhone insider told us: “We believe that the new Apple iPhone 4 will sell 2 million units on the first weekend alone”. And he is not the only one who thinks so. What do you think? Will Apple really sell so many iPhones?

The Apple iPhone 4 will also be available for Apple fans in UAE close to launch day as we stated earlier. Did you order yours already?

- http://dubaiinformer.com/tech/3583/iphone-4-sold-out-in-less-than-24-hours/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=iphone-4-sold-out-in-less-than-24-hours

See what I'm talking about? It sold out... here! Oh, wait.. America? That's more than 3000 miles away from here. Oh, dang...


Back to the drawing board.

Fonts & Nuisances

I'm having a teeny bit of trouble with fonts. Apparently, my first post doesn't change its font even if I forcefully edit it. All my other posts don't behave the same though, thank goodness. I couldn't say I didn't have troubles with fonts before though, because as far as I could remember, this is my first problem when I have started blogging here at blogger a long, long time ago too. It was one of the factors that made me quit blogging. But of course, I was still immature back then.

And now, am I still?

Windows Update, fail

During the New Year, I managed to receive and get new things through gifts (particularly gadgets, I don't know if it was coincidental with the New Year though), and I very much appreciated this gesture during the first quarter. Why? Because I have a short-attention span, that's all. Picture this: You want a digital SLR. You like photography. After getting your inexpensive camera, you tinker with it. You fall in love with it. You go to different locations, photographing particular places of pulchritude, sceneries, landscapes, and even common things (because it just looks soooooo good on a gooood camera). After a month or so, your desire and hunger for shooting things slowly falters, and it's slowly fading away, like falling out of love. Even worse, I become bored of something just after a day, usually when I can't tinker and play with it anymore, e.g., a cellphone's capabilities. It's like love at first sight, you know? I just won't pass by again. Read on.

On being a bookworm

I won't deny that I am indeed what you call a bookworm. Yes, ever since I was a child (internet was still not rampant and fully developed, oh and you still can't copy your homework from Wikipedia), I really took pleasure in reading Groiler's (or was it Broiler's?) Encyclopedias. From A-Z, I read them all.


Oh, wait. Gimme a break. I was still a toddler back then, and yeah, I must admit. By 'reading', I mean looking at those nice, detailed and colored pictures on the book and reading their captions. That's considered reading, you know. But anyway, it still doesn't change the fact that whenever I touch a book (that I am interested in, of course), I won't stop reading it - especially when it's a page-turner! (yes, I am referring to you, Harry Potter. or J.K Rowling) And to those who are wondering what type of books, any book would do, as long as it's not related to books that are in the school's library or something. Math books? Out of the question.


So far, I have been reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (since I had nothing to do,meh) , and I only got to it a day ago. I only read on free time though, and by free time, I mean idle times, i.e., when I get off the internet, I'm bored to death, blahblah. And I'm also looking forward to finishing this book by tonight, as there are only less than 100 pages of the book left to be read. I don't intend in finishing all of my books right now though, as the books I only have ATM are 4.. and that includes Eclipse. Yes, Stephenie Meyer's.


And with that, something in me died a little bit. I guess I'm off installing a new game I just got recently. From being a bookworm, to being a hardcore videogamer-slash-fanboy. You knew it!

A cup of tea, please.

A month full of new experiences. A month full of new viewpoints and perspectives. I could still vividly remember the scene back then, on the cozy and gloomy machine (well, it was dawn, you see), on how it served as a wonderful instrument in making all of these possible. I don't want to get specific, sometimes I might be vague, but that's how I play my game. Moving on, I drank neither coffee or tea before (but I do drink cappuccinos, frappes, and iced tea), and I was quite in a shock when I was asked, "Coffee or Tea, sire?" "With milk or none?" Coffee or Tea? Good question. I was cranky from my lack of sleep (spent all the time either watching movies or eating), and as a result, I couldn't think very well. The thing that only registered in my mind was sleep. Therefore, I tried my best in giving an acceptable answer other than "Whatever tickles your fancy", and putting my best foot forward (and a formidable British accent), I said, "A cup of tea, please. With milk."
I never really knew how actual tea tasted like. I've always drank iced tea before, but I didn't know whether it counted as tea or not (up to now, actually). So there, in a snap (well, not really - it took half a minute for my tea to be prepared), I finally tasted real tea. Excited enough, I drank with all my might and scalded my tongue (blame the cup for looking harmless, I say). After the burning sensation subsided, I drank a little bit and earnestly tasted it. I couldn't really describe the taste though, it just tasted plain.. leafy. I couldn't taste the milk, that 'unique' taste just covered my taste buds and took all my tastes away. And in that instant, it provided my body with warmth (I didn't really need the warmth though, I didn't even use the blanket or anything and I was sweating).. unneeded warmth. "Ah, whatever," I mumbled. "I just need my sleep."
And thanks to the tea, I finally was able to sleep.
For five minutes.