Le Imbecile watches Les Miserables

I was warned that the cinema would be 90 percent full and I may have to sit at the very front row looking up to the big screen for the entire duration of the movie. I told the lady at the ticket booth that I did not mind sitting in the very front row of the cinema. I figured that by the time I'd get in the cinema, the "go big or go home" warning to moviegoers would already have been shown. So I bought a ticket for the 7:00PM screening. I will be watching alone since RN and Karlee decided to go home instead of watching the movie with me after not being able to find a pha khin parking lot close to the cinema. I have always wanted to go big.

A man was swimming with a limp body of a man out of the sewage. He was being pursued by a man in uniform who looked like the actor who played a schizophrenic in an older movie, The Beautiful Mind. The movie was obviously on its climax. I felt like a lost idiot entering the wrong cinema. I entered the cinema that started at 5:15PM. Moviegoers watching Les Miserables did not know that Le Imbecile was watching the end part of the movie with them. It was 7:20 and the movie would end in half an hour. Anne Hathaway looked shockingly anorexic singing "I dreamed a dream". I could not imagine Susan Boyle playing Fantine and singing the same song at West End in London where I took the billboard photo when Aunt Pauline and two cousins strolled by Soho District almost two years ago.

I did at one point consider someday watching Les Miserables at West End in London into my bucket list. Chris Cruz made it sound so big watching the musicale in London that I got inspired. I did wish to go back to London and see Soho District once again.

I wondered if that was really Anne Hathaway singing. The big kid confirmed it really was Anne Hathaway singing. Not bad for someone who played bastard princess in Princess Diaries. I don't remember Russel Crowe singing anything. All I thought of during the movie was schizophrenic character he played. I was even relieved when he jumped into his death as Inspector Javert. I loved the young Cosette. I love how her face was captured to replicate the portrait of Cosette by Emelie Bayard from the original edition of Les Miserables in 1862. The portrait reminds me of a photo taken by Lev Alcantara of a girl child laborer in Silay City in Negros Occidental some years ago. The older Cosette would always be the girl at Dear John to me. Beautiful, virginal and somewhat obsolete. I'd rather see women portrayed as strong and unconventional. Just like Eponine. In the story, Eponine was so enamored to Marius who on the other hand is so enamored with Cosette. Eponine took part in the revolution kind of disguising as a male just to be close to Marius. I did not like that enamored stalking part of the character. It's the trouser and cap-wearing part that I really like.

One of my first kindle downloads is the Les Miserables. I have always gotten interested with stories beginning with someone being imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread but I never got past the preface of the story. I find the book so damn difficult to read. It's like the Holy Bible and Glorious Koran combined.

One dumb ass

I can never play the role of a Flip show off. Besides, I have never driven a Mercedes Benz, a big shot car that Flips would drool over no matter how old the car is.
I drove for the first time to work RN's Lincoln Hybrid MKZ last night and felt cool driving a gentleman's town car. I did not have to do the Gloria parking, my signature dumb ass parking. The Lincoln has a back up camera so my fears of backing up on another car are lessened.

Industrial Peace

Teamwork has become an overused meaningless word to me. So let me think about industrial peace instead, Daniel Silva called it cheating when he saw me helping Corrine Bailey Rae work on her learning module series. I told Daniel Silva it's not cheating, it's teamwork.

I wish Adele did not have to do a one-on-one lecture about teamwork  when all she was trying to tell me was to be obedient like a a dog.

The Big Round Belly of Pha Khin Phat

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"The pot-bellied laughing buddha is a symbol of prosperity, joy and family. The presence of a buddha statue symbolizes good fortune , and is thought to be specially lucky if you rub the big round belly."

The Return of the EEO Fish Bowl

I created the EEO fish bowl more than two years ago to vent off all the nosocomial crap that I try to shower off every time . I thought nobody was reading until i was asked about Ikabod, a wanna be big fish that I blogged about.

Coult it be workplace bullying?

Corrine Bailey Rae  finally succeeded leaving the workplace she had for almost twenty years. I was not around to wish  Corrine Bailey Rae  the best of her  getaway for good as  I was running around on a temporary getaway from the workplace I shared with her for the last two years myself. I was glad I did not have to go through listening to anyone tell Corrine Bailey Rae  how she would be missed in the work the unit. I dreaded to witness and hear the pretensions everyone would offer her through kind words on her very last day at her workplace for almost twenty years.

Workplace Bullying...could it be?

The note was from Lev, a former co-worker in the Philippines. It came with two CDs of Joey Ayala, an artist I used to listen to a lot and the montage of the former workplace photos in DVDs. In the organizational structure, Lev was more senior than me but I much older than him. I have kept closely in touch with my former co-workers. some of them like they are relatives. I owe them the debt of gratitude. On certain occasions and situations, it's payback time, on other occasions, it's me asking for favors. Warm regards and missing his bullying us...There are three of us who have left the Institute for North America: Beng in Seattle, Bobit in Toronto and myself. Lev meant heckling rather than bullying but he provided me with the word I needed at the moment.

 I have always been a participant-observer. The social worker in me always takes notes and thank heavens for blogging. I don't like to put words in anybody's mouth and you decide for yourself whether what I saw are cases of bullying in the workplace. You don't have to have a PhD in Behavioral Sciences to have an opinion for yourself.

The Bitter Chocolate 

G was so upset that she even expected the chocolate to taste bitter. Surprisingly, the chocolate was sweet and G felt a little embarrassed with her emotional state. Too much Dramamine! What started when Ms Y asked G to pull a chair ended with G feeling like a total slacker. "Why did you refuse to switch with Ms E on the patient in 205." Ms E thought that it was unfair that she be given a heavy patient with an acuity score of 20 for a primary and she wanted to switch for a patient who is not as heavy. G did not say no but told Ms E that she could help her anytime. G really believed that Ms B from day had a reason for giving Ms E the patient. G thought that Ms E belongs to the Whiners Clicque and her reply to Ms E must have been interpreted as how she would have said it if she did not bite her tongue. The night before, G worked with Ms S who was also given a similarly heavy patient for her primary by Ms B of day. But Ms S did not complain nor asked to switch with G for an easier patient. The truth is, had Ms S asked G the favor, G would have gladly complied. Ms S has always been very pleasant to work with. G did Ms S' peer evaluation review and  gave her the highest rating. She is among the nicest ones in the floor. As G wrote in my review, Ms S is always totally involved with her patients' care and always made herself available when her partner needed a hand. G did not tell Ms E that Ms B probably wanted the likes of Ms E to take charge and get involved with patients' total care, not only passing medications.

G could not believe that Ms C who is in the same level as Ms B of day  and was sitting about 2 meters away from Ms Y and G remarked that Ms B did not have a particular reason for giving Ms E a heavy patient. Ms C lectured G about teamwork on a one-on-one basis like completing learning module systems online and attending seminars on efficiency, quality service and other productivity pep talks every year for the last five years was not enough. Earlier that night, Ms J also instructed G to take a heavier patient that Ms B initially assigned her. Ms J ventually went to Ms C who approved the switch. Ms C later told G that Mr F, the patient who Ms J switched was unhappy with G that night. Ms C then instructed G to go to Mr. F's room and express her apologies and admit to Mr F that she was inefficient. G had Mr F the night before with Ms S and was aware that Mr F had altered mental state. G tried to explain to Ms C that Mr F was upset because Mr. F had called several times for Ativan. G tried to explain to Mr F that Ms J was with another patient at the moment but she would be with him shortly. G thought that admitting her worthlessness to a patient with an altered mental status is like to taking a confused patient's compliment seriously.

Rubber-necking at a Korean Market

Twy! Twy! Twy!

I wish I could twy the sashimi.

Fish be with you!

Better than getting leid at the Peak

All for the sake of documentation and freezing the moment in pixes. On my first attempt to reach the Mount Woodson Peak, I thought I was going to pass out. I rewarded myself by lying down on the side of the paved road to have eye level view of the sky. It felt good to be supine on the ground. Photo credit to Tina, my hiking buddy on my first ascent to Mount Woodson.

Maybe it has something to do with the caption that went along with the posting of the photo taken by Xing at Morena Butte. Getting to the peak of the top butte along a southern Pacific Crest Trail is an extreme feat to this slowpoke. Rewarding one's self and describing to friends how it felt to be on top of the top butte was just as innocent.

The umbrella guy who held his sun block all the way to the summits of Mother Miguel and San Miguel Mountains did not mind how odd he must have looked to fellow hikers. I handed Xing my cell phone for a better than getting leid feeling photo. I was not aware the whole group was watching while I posed looking at the sky at eye level. It felt good actually like getting leid at the paved service road to San Miguel Mountain antenna towers. I couldn't be the umbrella guy but I could have used his umbrella to hide myself when I realized that my fellow hikers were watching me in amusement.

Pha Khin pose!

Meet Mitt, the bobcat in the hood

It's the sceond sighting of the bobcat. I am sure I have seen him last spring.
Back then, I would not have called him Mitt because Mitt could have been a presidential name.

Double Rainbows

"Wooah! Double rainbows!"

"Double rainbows all the way!"

"Oh my gut!"

"What does it mean?"The video that made waves more than two years ago had already generated more than it could and had at one became an app. The video is basically a spoof on Stendahl Syndrome. It's this ecstatic orgasmic ejaculations that are exaggerated upon seeing something out of the ordinary but nothing new. And I did my spoof.

I should find better things to do!

Keiko Teruya on Rachel Maddow

Keiko Teruya is an artist in her own right. She may not be as widely known as Keiko Matsui but her being a Japanese makes me consider her an unordinary Asian.Keiko Teruya is certified by the Sacramento Board of hair dynamics to practice Brazilian blow job. Keiko Matsui is, of course, a Japanese jazz pianist. Both Keikos are as pretty as Hello Kitty, not that I have met Keiko Matsui in person to be right. Japanese women, to me, have the most cosmopolitan looks of all Asian women no matter how many Brazilian blows any other Asian woman gets.

I showed Keiko Teruya Rachel Maddow on my phone when she ask me what else could she give me other than a Brazilian blow out. She looked at Rachel Maddow for a second and asked if the person on my phone is my friend. I told Keiko to copy Rachel Maddow's haircut. Rachel Maddow is not really my friend but I follow her on Twittter. She began the job by directing me to the sink so she could shampoo my hair to prepare my hair for an optimal smoothing result. She thought Asian hair are as firm as a wild pig's hair. After towel-drying my limp smoothened hair, Keiko went on to divide my hair into sections assuring me that I could look even prettier than Rachel Maddow. I told her to cut it short and that Rachel Maddow did not need to look pretty. She agreed on Rachel Maddow not needing to look pretty because she looks more like a boy. She remembered two women coming to the salon at the same time recently and she cut their hair pretty short, just like Rachel Maddow's. I did not realize she was almost done with the Brazilian blow out as she finished her job by blow-drying my Rachel Maddow cut. The next time I visit Keiko Teruya, I would show her the picture of Howard Stern on my phone.

A Daniel Silva Synopsis

I am still reeling over the impending loss to four more years of Obamacare. I don't know why I can't take off my mind over the great possibility of a Mormon president. I just finished reading the Fallen Angel. The book has a 2012 copyright. The best thing for me was not spending $14 to buy a kindle copy of the book.

I am looking for the part where read about the sign of the cross and a benedictory amen. For a cattle tick who had a cattle tick education that made a world of difference, the sign of the cross is more of an open and close parenthesis on a cattle tick statement. Daniel Silva sounds like a pretending cattle tick who marched into the gas chambers of Auschwitz in previous life. I mean, he is so good of a writer that he made such an impression on me.
Gabriel Allon looks for the crucifix that Dotoresa Claudia Andreatti was wearing in her neck before she plunged to death from the glory of the Sistine Chapel. Gabriel Allon is the restorer created by Daniel Silva in his prequel books, maybe more than a dozen of them. Prequel is the mother of all sequels, motherfiretruckers!
Monsignor Luigi Donati, the Pope's secretary, a former Jesuit tells Gabriel Allon to investigate the death of Claudia Andreatti.

Lifelong Pedagogues

Fertile Earth
Fish eater
Plucked from the Water Spinach Swamp
A Transplant Goes to Brooklyn

Hongcouver

It would be a while till I stop thinking about my Northern exposure. The most the exposure did to me was heighten my appreciation to my
adopted country. The trip also reinforced my decision not to be a dual-citizen. I love being an American. I am glad I lived to be an American.

I first heard about Hongcouver from Ching. Ching lived in Victoria for the last forty years. Asian vs. Asian, such ethnocentricity. The pot calling the kettle black.

When the sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred to China by the British, Hong Kong residents fled to Vancouver. Immigrants from Hong Kong made the housing market in Vancouver unaffordable by many Canadians and other immigrants during the influx. A lot of the Victorian houses in Richmond were said to have been bought off by immigrants from Hong Kong.

The likes of Ling Nam Buddhist Temple are landmarks of the Asian spirit that would not outrightly tell mockers to eat their heart out!

Shots from San Francisco

It's my second visit to this fabled city of flag rainbows and the golden gate, of course.

Middle School Spring Concert

The school named after the first African-American justice is teeming with white heads. All I know about Thurgood Marshall is he was black.

Trails and Photos

Escape to the Mountains

Chasing Pavements at Mount Woodson Summit in Ramona

Pha Khin Tah Ngah

"Mrs. Norbraten, I found your spare tire", Tim Fletcher maintained his best customer service face.
Two hours ago, I called for an appointment and requested for Tim whose name I saw in the invoice from last service of the Pontiac. I was glad i did not tell him that I was calling for a service appointment because his staff forgot to put back the spare tire back on the car when they put a new tire to replace the one that I run flat with no tread left.

Wireless nights and falcon pride

I guess tonight is the neighborhood school area's spring concert night. More than a year ago, the whole household was here to attend the big kid's concert. She was in the choral group and it was to commemorate Veterans day. The master of ceremonies encouraged veterans present to stand to join the singing ifif they hear their song.

Back to the basics

Libraries are cheaper than Starbucks. No need for purchase of cafe macchiato in order to occupy a table and use wi-fi.

The Japan in me

"Japan is much nicer," I retorted to Mr. Watanabe as I left his room. I knew he was trying to be pleasant by telling me that Philippines is a nice country.

I meant it when I told Mr. Watanabe that Japan is much nicer, in fact, much much nicer than my country of birth.  My impressions of Japan came about gradually  like to a second floor apartment dweller sitting by the window everyday  watching and wishing that someday she could live in a beautiful house like that of the Sison's at 11th Jamboree Street. Japan to me was  a rich neighbor who had better education and more academically-inclined. I still look up to Japan as the number one country in Asia,  more like a vision for any lesser Asian to be live up to.

Gratuities

I couldn't tell if Madame Scanlan was really fond of me. I was horrified when she tried to give me money, as gratuities. I thought I wouldn't want to lose my 3D job over $20. I reacted like crazy. I am glad she did not insist or made me accept the $20 or else she would be upset. Truth is, I was humbled.

Madame Scanlan commended me for serving her well. I told her I was part of a team and it was our job to take care of everyone to the best that we can.

I don't know what made her think that she could take me home to take care of her.  But I bade her goodbye this morning promising to get in touch. I gave her my cell and home phone numbers.

I wish I was being commended for my intelligence instead, if any.

Limit everyone from carbon dioxide emissions?

As in no farting allowed?
I don't believe a crap about limiting carbon dioxide emissions. According to medicine.net, individuals free of symptoms of excessive flatulence record an approximately 14 passages of  gut gas per 24 hours.
Nitrogen, the main constituent of air, is the primary gas released during flatulence, along with carbon dioxide. Methane which is a carbon and four atoms of hydrogen is also a component of human carbon emissions.