Every last week of March, the Earth Hour has always been observed worldwide. I got acquainted with this event way back when I was still with MMLDC and event hough I'm no longer there, I still get reminded about this occasion as SM malls also partake in this kind of endeavor.

Anyway, the Earth Hour aims to help our planet in a simple act -- by turning off lights for 60 minutes or so when the clock strikes 8:30 pm (PST). This gesture is also participated not only by households but business establishments as well. The activity aims to contribute an act in saving the planet in this time of climate change.

I'm proud to have been able to participate on this act too --with mom actually reminding me when the time came to turn off the lights :-). On the other hand, this one also caught my senses when I saw this tonight on Facebook, through my friend Jam Mamaril:

This song, Marry Me by the band Train was sung during the observance of Earth Hour here in the country at the SM Mall of Asia and was sung by former South Boarder vocalist Luke Mejares. It's another song I easily got glued to and even felt kind of giddy watching the video. Though, I'd like to think that this could be appropriate too for another event -- the Lovapalooza.

Anyway, the lyrics go like this:

Say you will, say you will marry me

One of the common discomforts of my line of work is going through abnormal sleeping patterns. It's making other people cringe at the thought that while they are well-indulging restful sleep at night, I on the other hand is sitting in front of my workstation attending to modifications, HTML codes, emails and copy writing revisions.

Just this morning, the subject of ways on how to be able to sleep was the topic of my office mates. I got to hear the simple ones and even laughed till my tummy ached hearing E's method of visualizing in order to drive herself to sleep. Her way? She imagines herself being in a huge watermelon plantation carrying a mallet and smashing all the watermelons. The whole activity would make her feel tired thus she gets to sleep.

It was both weird and funny at the same time. Now, my own method is less drastic and violent. On my end, I also visualize things to condition myself to sleep. I normally think of water. Either an aquarium near a window on a dark, rainy night or water rippling from a river. If my mind is not into it, I think of the simplest things like a box with just one color and imagining a dot in the middle of it. Just focusing on the dot is enough to relax my senses and let me doze off.

But of course, aside from that, there's discipline. I only take OTC sleeping aids when necessary. No caffeine and soda just before bed and I try to hit the sack at the same time or earlier every morning.

And it always works. Now, if you won't mind, I'll be doing my visualization routine again as it's bedtime. Later. :-)

Now, it took me some minutes to ponder about it and think of a scientific answer. But then, at the end of it, probably, I realized, there are things that are simply outside the limits of logic. Including this one. It took me quite a while and I just found myself looking at this person directly as I said this:

It filled me with an amount of inexplicable joy knowing that I, at one point, was able to reason out that way. At the same time, it makes me cringe too. For I never thought, I could be that unbelievably mushy.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now to rest -- just as the wonderful office nurse advised. I hope you'll all have a wonderful morning.

Incidentally, this is my 200th post :-D

Yes, I was caught by surprise by his words. After all, I don't give out jokes most of the time (thus people perceive me to be that serious -- suplada even) because I don't hit punchlines right and I deliver the silliest, corniest stories. Then there comes this guy who'd tell me right then and there that I was able to make him laugh (for real). Call it funny but I had to restrain my other former colleague, Jeff Cequena from reiterating TJ's words lest asthma will bug me again for laughing too much.

But seriously, it's one of those conversations I'd love to replay in my head.

Never, ever underestimate the power of I like that. Thank you John Mayer.

I was bitten by the curiosity bug over the weekend and in a way out of disappointment too perhaps for not winning the Best Picture in the recently-concluded Oscars thus I trooped to SM Megamall over the weekend to watch this movie. And while this was another plan not plotted in my calendar, to see the film was both a must and as an alternative since the supposed get-together with my highschool classmates did not push through last Saturday.

Black Swan is an American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aonofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. Its plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. In a way, I am quite familiar of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as it was one of those pieces that I played back when I was still enrolled by my parents in piano classes.

Anyway, back to the movie, portraying the role of the swan was a test of character to Nina Sayers as the main role's got to be able to perform both personalities -- the white swan and the black swan. Such leads to a struggle as she tries to combine and live through both personalities to prove her worth for the role of the Swan Queen.

The twist comes as Nina tries to fight those inner demons, fears and psychotic episodes that sprung out for wanting to be the perfect character that she was not used to being.

On my part, I found the whole movie great, such that I do not regret setting some time just to watch it. Glad was I though to have watched the movie by myself as there were some scenes that were disturbingly inappropriate to the young audience. I myself cringe at some of those (so, it was good that I was not with someone during the movie). But all in all, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis did great in portraying their respective roles. The movie could be more of a psychological thriller but on the other hand, analyzing through the whole film, I found some vital points enough to wake me up at this point as I am about to make a huge make or break decision too on my own.