Goddess, I Am.

Because people can’t seem to stop talking about New Moon (which premiered last Friday, the 20th, in the Philippines), I might as well write a few words about it for lack of better things to write about.

Probably the most remarkable thing about the movie was the crowd. The unruly throngs of people – mostly pre-pubescent teens, I might add – nearly gave me a coronary. Thankfully, I reserved our tickets nearly a full month before (seriously). So while hoards of teenage girls moaned how their seats were close enough to the screen to see Edward’s brain matter through his nostrils, I was smugly gloating about the fact that we literally had the best seats in the house – the first row of the premiere section, right smack in the middle where there’s leg room aplenty (not that my short legs needed the room, but you get the picture).

The movie itself was so-so. I didn’t have high expectations, so I didn’t leave disappointed. The book was probably my second least favorite (I liked Breaking Dawn least) because Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) reaction to Edward’s leaving was way too pathetic and was a tad corny, even for me (and I’ve had my share of high drama, mind you). Predictably, the movie was just as melodramatic, even to the point of being somewhat dragging.

It did have its redeeming moments, though, namely the scenes where Jacob (Taylor Lautner) strutted around half-naked. And because this happened quite often, some may argue that his pectorals saved the show. You can count me in, if you must, tee hee.

However, I think the guy who played Paul (Alex Meraz) was even hotter, if that’s at all possible. (That’s him on the left, growl!)

Photo Credit: Ace Showbiz

Of course, not to be outdone, Edward (Robert Pattinson) had to go topless, too. Is it just me, though, or is Rob becoming more and more of a letdown as the series progresses? It’s either that, or I’m just really disturbed with how his nipples looked way too much like P10 coins. (And yes, I do notice these sort of things.)

One thing about the movies that I’m really starting to hate is how Edward comes off as a bit of a pansy. I don’t know if it’s Rob, or how the films are directed, but really, the doe eyes are too much for a vampire movie, even a vampire love story. In the book, Edward is supposed to be romantic and brooding, but he’s also quite a bad ass. In the movies, on the other hand, he broods more than a teenage girl (which makes him more cheesy than romantic), and he’s about as bad-assed as Rainbow Brite.

Case in point, will the vampire lover of your wildest fantasies be caught dead in a gag-worthy scene such as this:

‘Nuff said.

All in all, though, it was good fun, New Moon. Eye candy never hurt anybody, so if you’re a fan of the series, it’s definitely worth watching, even just for curiosity’s sake. Whether you watch it at the cinema, or curled up on a couch in one of those Outer Banks beach rentals when it comes out on video, it’s entirely up to you. But if its box office earnings so far is any indication, I think almost everyone opted for the former. I do know we’ll be getting it on Blu-ray, if only to add to my burgeoning share of the collection.

On a side note, I wouldn’t want Robert Pattinson to be my Edward Cullen, if I were Bella Swan. I would want him . . .

Christian Bale

Or him . . .

Michael C. Hall

But most definitely, him . . .

The Husband

Won’t my version of New Moon be so much better (and slightly porn-y)?

It can’t be any fun being my laptop. I don’t spend my days surfing, or watching videos on YouTube, or even playing games on Facebook. All I do is work, work, and work some more. And don’t get me started on the amount of work I do. Let’s just say that in any given day, I have about 3 days’ worth of work to do IF I do everything manually. Fortunately for me, my boss loves buying me software, so most of my tasks are automated, which is definitely the only reason why I actually manage to do everything that I’m supposed to do every day.

Now, most of these software run on – surprise, surprise! – Windows. My darling Octavian, however, runs on Mac OS X 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard). This means that to be able to run these software, I have to run Windows on a Macbook Pro somehow. One way to do is to install it in something called Boot Camp and choose Windows when I boot up Octavian . . . Yeah, right. Like that’s going to happen! Running Windows on its own on a Macbook Pro is like playing a shitty VCD on a perfectly good Blu-ray player – it’s sacrilegious, to say the least.

So as an alternative, I’ve chosen to purchase a software called VMWare Fusion, and this is, by far, one of my best investments yet. VMWare Fusion allows me to run Windows as a virtual machine (I named it Lucius Cornelius Sulla, tee hee) so I won’t have to leave OS X to run Windows applications. This means that I’m actually running two computers simultaneously on one. Add the fact that I’m also running another half a dozen apps on the native OS X system, and I’ve got an extremely overworked laptop. Very few laptops will be able survive such a beating without crashing, and Octavian’s one of those – he’s never crashed once. Rather, he valiantly takes whatever demands I put to him without complaint. Yes, he’s a good boy, that’s why I love him to bits (no pun intended).

Octavian came with a 2GB DDR3 RAM, which was a big deal for me, considering the crap that I had to put up with before I bought my first Mac. Though it’s sufficient to run both my systems simultaneously, I do suffer lags every now and again, which is really a bit annoying when you’re trying to get things done yesterday. I knew a RAM upgrade to 4GB would take care of this, but since the DDR3 technology is fairly new, the chips weren’t readily available locally – and I felt that I had to purchase it from an authorized Apple store/service center to get their techs to install it for me. Unfortunately, there was a 2-month waiting list to order ‘em chips, plus it would be about twice the price of getting it from somewhere like TipidPC or eBay.

Now, for as long as I can remember, the guys at the PhilMUG forums have been insisting that a DIY RAM and hard-disk upgrade was as easy as pie. It’s so easy, in fact, that these sort of upgrades do not even void the warranty! I’ve been toying with the idea of doing it for the longest time. I’ve even watched videos of how it was done, and they all made it look so easy! I’ve always chickened out at the last minute, though. I don’t know what came over me this week, but I suddenly fancied that my poor Octavian was coming down with asthma from all the hard work (the real Octavian was asthmatic, after all) and that I needed to do a RAM upgrade stat! So I ordered a couple of 2GB Team Elite chips from a TipidPC seller, who came highly recommended from ‘em forum guys, on Tuesday. I paid P4,700 (about $100) for both chips plus shipping on the same day, and got confirmation that it was en route to Cebu.

The chips turned up the next day, Wednesday. The idea of opening up poor Octavian sickened me so much, though, that The Husband ended up doing it for me that afternoon. First, he tried to get the screws off with a really old #00 screwdriver that he found buried amidst his old junk. That didn’t really work – 3 of the screws won’t come off!

So we hurriedly took a trip to True Value in Ayala to get a new screwdriver and ended up with a set. This time, Octavian was successfully opened up. The Husband removed the old 1GB sticks and replaced ‘em with the new 2GB ones (there’s two of each). The process took no more than a couple of minutes. He then closed up Octavian, and I re-booted. To my horror, it showed that I only had 1GB of RAM from the 4GB I was expecting! I nearly cried. I did a test using memtest, and yep, there’s definitely only 1GB.

So The Husband opened up poor Octavian again, and sure enough, one of the chips was loose. He fiddled with them somewhat, and they were finally in nice and tight. I booted up Octavian again, and scarily enough, he only had 3GB! By this time, I was definitely in a panic. The Husband opened up Octavian again and removed the chips. We both checked if they were identical, and they were, right down to their 2GB DDR3 warranty stickers.

The Husband had the brilliant idea of trying to isolate problem. He installed just one chip, rebooted, and checked the system – definitely a 2GB. Off came Octavian’s back case yet again, and this time, he installed just the other chip. Lo and behold – it was a 1GB!

So it seemed that the problem was with that second chip. I thought it might have been mislabeled or something, but the guys on the forums believe it’s a faulty chip. I contacted the seller – who was really nice, by the way – and he asked me to send in the faulty chip yesterday so he can replace it. I thought he was going to wait until the chip got there before he sent me a new one so I was resigned to the fact that I’ll have to wait a couple more days, but no, he sent it straight away, the moment I confirmed that I’ve sent the faulty chip. I’m expecting it sometime today.

Right now, Octavian is running on 3GB RAM – the new, working 2GB chip and one of the original 1GB sticks. I have not experienced a single lag since, even when I’ve got Windows running, too. It takes a bit longer to start up (about 30 seconds), though, but that’s perfectly understandable. It’s the actual working time that matters to me, anyway, and a longer start-up time just means that I have more time to get breakfast ready.

With the favorable experience that I’ve had with the 3GB RAM so far, I can’t wait to see what the 4GB would be like! I’m getting stuff done even quicker than usual, too. A happy Octavian means a happy Mommy Iris.

Now, if only LBC would turn up with that chip already . . .

LBC turned up just as we were about to head to the mall to watch New Moon. Once again, Octavian was reopened, and in less than 2 minutes, he was sporting a spanking new 4GB RAM. (Check out the wallpaper. Cute, huh?)

It wasn’t without sadness and a lot of regret that I finally put down the last book of the Twilight saga – sadness because I will miss the Cullens a lot, and regret because I could’ve slowed down a bit more just to make the experience last a little bit longer. (Truth be told, I would’ve finished all 4 books 3 weeks ago, but I’m the model of self-control.) I got way too attached to the characters, as what usually happens when I read a series, so now I have to start learning to live in the real world again. It’s a lot like losing friends, even family, and that’s always a hard thing. In this case, it’s a lot harder because I’ve always been enthralled by vampires.

My passion for vampire lore probably started when I was an impressionable youth collecting Christopher Pike’s The Last Vampire series, to the days when I spent hours upon hours contemplating The Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice. They have always fascinated me. And beyond fascination, I’ve always really and truly believed with all my heart that they do walk the Earth in some form or another. After all, life is no good at all if we can’t believe in a little magic every now and again. I would say that I’ve met many vampires in the past (characters that I’ve come to know and love from the pages of books – Sita, Lestat, Marius, Armand, to name just a few), but it was the Cullens who best personified what I’ve always believed vampires to be like.

I wouldn’t say that the Twilight saga is the best thing I’ve ever read (that distinction still goes to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides – fantastic writing!), but I can honestly say that it’s one of the best stories that have ever been told. It was one hell of a ride, from the swoon-worthy moments of Twilight to the awe of New Moon through the thrill of Eclipse to the poignancy (and corniness) of Breaking Dawn. One day very, very soon, I’ll be ready to take that ride again, but, for now, I’ll keep the Cullens in that space between waking and dreaming where they belong (and the bookshelf next to one of Steve’s tv stands).

I have a confession to make – I have never heard of Twilight until I started seeing the movie posters a couple of months back. And even then, I didn’t think much of it. I thought the vampire dude looked ridiculously gay and the girl was too plain. I never watched the movie, even when I found myself surrounded by hordes of giggling girls everywhere I went.

I wasn’t interested in the books, either, which was strange because I’m nuts about vampires – the Anne Rice ones, to be exact. But the whole Twilight hoopla was undeniable, and I decided that I could at least see what the fuss was all about.

So after a few well-timed hints and much traipsing around Fully Booked, I got what I wanted – all 4 of Stephenie Meyer’s books. I got Twilight and New Moon from The Fiance, and Eclipse and Breaking Dawn from my mother (there was obviously a conspiracy there).

As of this moment, I’m halfway through Twilight – and I’m now “unconditionally and irrevocably in love” with the book. And Edward Cullen. And the whole idea of a vampire lover. I’ve been swooning like a schoolgirl since the first page, and I practically jumped out of my skin (okay, the couch), giggling like mad, when Edward said, “But I’m tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella.” on page 84, much to The Fiance’s shock.

Now I’m near tears because all the theaters are now showing those ridiculous Manila Filmfest nominees, and I can’t find Twilight anywhere. I’m absolutely devastated. Oh, what I would give to watch Edward Cullen on screen right now, gay-looking or not! Looks like it’s back to the ol’ torrent download for me.

Apart from the Twilight series, I had a pretty good haul this year. I got The Time Traveler’s Wife from my best friend, a back scratcher (don’t ask) and nightgown from my sister, and my yearly Starbucks planner from mum. The only thing missing is a Macbook from, well, anyone. Any takers? After all, hope springs eternal…

All in all, it was a lovely Christmas spent just chilling with the family. Now I must wrap this up. Edward (and tons of articles to write, ack!) awaits…