He is Sam

1. What did you learn about the challenges any new parent faces with a new born?

“I Am Sam” is a beautiful movie. It shows how a parent face challenges of raising child/children, but what makes it different is that the parent is mentally challenged, or what many would like to call straight away as mentally retarded.

I have learned that it will never be easy to become a parent, whether you are very smart or not properly educated, whether you are thinking straight or not. I think, though, that it will be love that will change it all and keep everyone intact.

Babies cry most of the time. Since people become new parent when a child is born, they will not know how to comfort a child until they get used to it. They will always think at the beginning “Oh, what is it? Are you hungry? Did you poop? What’s the matter? Does it hurt somewhere?”

Challenges are unavoidable and it doesn’t just end there. There will come a time that parents will experience financial crisis or if not, the inability to work properly because they have to bring the child to work when no one will be able to take care of it at home.

As shown in the movie, a new parent may also encounter scenarios wherein friends get mad because he forgot that they have a movie night on Thursday, for example.

Furthermore, if people find you incapable of raising the child properly, they take him/her away from you and find someone else to adopt the child. It hurts when someone and something yours is taken away. In the case of Sam, it seemed that he didn’t have the chance to get Lucy back. But nevertheless, he did all his best because he is her father and he is firm about that because she is his daughter. What joy it brought him when in the end, they were together again.

Despite of all of that, even though there are many challenges, I believe that becoming a parent is something to be proud of. The feeling is very different, overwhelming. It is an achievement, most especially when you see them succeed in life.

2. How does Sam cope with his new responsibilities as a parent?

Like everybody else, Sam seeks out help. He is smart but he cannot do things on his own most of the time most especially now that he is a parent. He was able to cope with his new responsibilities with the help of his neighbour Annie. She gives Sam advice whenever there are problems.

Sometimes, it’s his friends who help him in taking care of Lucy. They come over to Sam’s place and play with her. There were also times that the group contributes money when Sam can’t afford something, like when he was buying shoes for Lucy.

His employers helped him in his work at Starbucks first where he got a promotion, then at Pizza Hut where the owner agreed to testify for him.

3. What qualities does he possess? What does he lack?

Sam Dawson, as a mentally retarded person, possesses the characteristic of being able to take care of people and things that are his. He cherishes them. At work, he wants everything in order. He is capable of love, in reaching out to other people as he did with his lawyer Rita.

“I have had a lot of time to think about what it is that makes somebody a good parent. It’s about constancy, and it’s about patience, it’s about listening, and it’s about pretending to listen even when can’t listen anymore. It’s about love... I’m not a perfect parent and sometimes I don’t have enough patience and I forget that he is just a kid. But we built a life together and we love each other and if you destroy that, it will be irreparable.”

However, capable as a 7 year old child is, he doesn’t know what to do on his own. He cannot read. Sometimes he cannot control his emotions most especially if it is negative, more so when he is overwhelmed, either by happiness or sadness or anger. He is sensitive to negativity and that is what triggers the previous statement. He doesn’t also know how to differentiate good people with hooker.

Plus One

“Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to me.”

Today, I declare that I am officially eighteen years old. I am no longer a minor citizen of the Philippines.

I am done with my favourite number, 17. I’ll miss it because another year is added to my age and existence and that means that I am getting older. It is part of life and even though it goes like that, I should be and I AM thankful that God has given me another year to live. Seventeen plus one is a blessing. Thank you Lord. :D

My First Free Book

“When fact and fiction are combined in novels, it’s not always clear to the reader which is which.”

Nelson DeMille said this in his Wild Fire's Author’s Note. It is very well true and that's what attracted me to grab and choose this free book distributed by our library.


Mixing fact and fiction makes a story really exciting. So, thumbs up to Mr. DeMille. However, if you really are interested in determining which are fact and which are fiction, you need to do only one thing - research. Nonetheless, let the books entertain me at times and teach me at another.

The only conflict I encountered was that I found this other book. It was written by James Patterson entitled The Jester. I also liked the book because in his note, he wrote this (not the exact line but the same thought), "Every author has a favorite among the novels he wrote and this is my favorite among the books I wrote."

That very thought intrigued me about the reason why it's James Patterson's favorite book. I have to find out.

I had to choose among the two and I chose the first. I just asked this to be reserved to me because the library didn't allow a student to take home two. One may return and get another... but only when done with the first book. Better get on with Wild Fire because I can't wait to get my hands on The Jester. Hahahahaha! XD

So, that's it?

[Rec] and Quarantine are the same films. There are differences in some scenes but basically, [Rec] is in Spanish and Quarantine is in English. [Rec] is only an hour and fifteen minute film while Quarantine is appriximately one and a half hour. Quarantine is inspired by [Rec]. Of course, some names and characters differ but the main character is still Angela Vidal (and the dog is still named Max). Both movie has the same plot of story. So, yes, I have wasted my time.

[Rec] and Quarantine revolves around a reporter covering an assignment of filming the life of firemen, everything they do in front and behind the camera. That's it.

Being a reporter takes a lot of responsibility. I like the scene when either of the Angela Vidal actresses fight for their right to take video to let people know what is/was happening. Sad to say, the tragedy won't let their efforts do their job to reach the public. Instead of her and her cameraman reporting the event, it was them that was reported.

Being a reporter isn't easy. In your pursuit of the truth, it might also harm you. In the movie, although it is fictitious, a simple cover of firemen life killed the reporter and her cameraman. "People think we [firemen] run around putting out fires but around 70% of the calls we get are for other types of services. For example, broken water mains or stopping a water leak, or helping someone out of their apartment, or pet rescue, too." At that particular moment that Angela was with the firemen, they responded not to a fire alarm but of a neighbor disturbance. Yet, everybody died inside of the building where they went. Their timing was bad because the building was sealed when they have entered. If only they came late, they won't get in the middle of the situation. But in real life, you cannot say when and where. Remember what happened in the Maguindanao Massacre? A lot of journalists were killed. They were just accompanying someone who will pass her certificate of candidacy and all of them was ambushed.

Being part of the media takes a lot of courage to face everyday trials and issues. You also have to keep in mind that danger might be following you wherever you go, but not always.

Going back to the films, I like to compare and contrast them. I like the child of [Rec] better than of Quarantine. The sound she made is very interesting. Ahaha! Sorry for the word, but I like horror, creepy, suspense, thriller stories. I am also sorry to inform you that when I watched the two films (different day and time), I was eating. Take note, for both movie. It was not intentional, but I got hungry. Well, while eating delicious food, I was staring at blood squirting scenarios.

One thing I noticed is that the film is just around the people who were and went inside the building. The movie ended with Angela being pulled away from the camera view. So, that's it? Yes. Because it didn't continue to what those people outside did and because the whole movie was from the  first eye point of view, the view of those who are involved directly like in other movies such as Blairwtich Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity.

Be Careful of What You Wish For

What is a family without a father? It's incomplete and hard, right? As you see your mom being a single parent and you have many siblings, it hurts you. The absence of a father affects the whole family. However, what's the difference of this one with a family with a father but doesn't act like one?

A father is important in a life of an individual. A father figure is mostly needed by boys and has a big effect if they don't get it. They may get lost in their own paths at an early age. They will go astray, confused of what they really want with their lives other than drinking and smoking, becoming hard headed and many more. All of the enumerated were the result of a fatherless family, a family who once had a father and for no logical reason, vanishes in their lives and on the face of the earth without a trace, saying all the fathers went to the moon.

"Please Don't Come Back From the Moon" is a very good novel for me. Although at the teenage years of the characters, they were already doing things that adults should do, that's only on the first part. As you go along reading, you will see their progress. As I will put it, they started badly and ended up becoming better.

I like the way it was written. I love what profession Michael Smolij chose, to become a writer, somewhat similar to mine. I encountered a lot of terms and scenarios that we have already encountered and which we will surely encounter a lot of times in the future when we have our jobs. I like the way some scenes show humor. It made me laugh in times I didn't expect it to. And I like the pun Dean Bakopoulos has made in the names of the bars: George Monday's, Ruby Tuesday, happy Wednesday's, TGI Friday's. Does it really have to contain the days of the week? It was in the story because it's almost everyday that the characters drink.

To sum it all up, I like the book, I like it's story. In it's simplicity, it's beautiful. So if your father leaves a note saying he went to the moon, don't say right away "please don't come back from the moon." Be careful of what you wish for, because who knows, in time when we're not aware, it might come true.

We Can Do It

I've heard a lot of comments that Green Lantern is boring. Well, for me it wasn't. Film viewing is my hobby. Of course I choose what to watch but basically, I'll watch anything. I judge movies after watching them. But it is so rare that I dislike movies. I can't even remember one or even enumerate those that I don't like until I hear their titles again.

I think it's kind of my problem in the field of U.S. films... telling what is good, not telling things as they are. For me, almost everything they produce is beautiful, sometimes awesome. The effects they use are amazing and I find their stories fascinating. But, I have no problem with myself with that. I am happy about it. If there comes a time that I have to be blunt and frank, I can and I will because time asks me to adopt. I know how to be objective, but not always on film viewing because I watch most of the time for the mere reason of entertaining myself when I'm not doing anything or whenever I need a break from doing something.

So I like the movie, not because it's "green" again (yes, I admit it is, but only a part) but because of the story of humans. When we are chosen, we kind of give all the possible reason for us not to be selected. Why don't we just believe that they chose us because they know we can?

The ring chose Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds) because it saw that he is fearless. Fearless is the job description. But he knew in himself and he admitted that he was afraid. The answer to this dilemma was given by Carol Ferris (played by Blake Lively), "The ring didn't see you fearless, it saw that you have the ability to overcome fear. It saw that you're courageous."

As I watch the movie, I learned that the ring can produce anything that we imagine. During Green Lantern's first appearance to the public when the helicopter was about to crash, Hal thought of a fast solution to keep the people safe. After that scene, I kind of reflected, if I was in that situation, would I have acted fast as well? Will I be able to do what he has done? Then I found the answer. We are not the same. He is he and I am me. I may not be able to do it in his way, but I will certainly do it on my way. And as I remember all the obstacles that I have encountered, I can say that I can act on the situation properly because I have seen myself in God's view. He won't give me trials if He knows I won't be able to face it.

Believe, that's all you need to do and trust, because you should not doubt.

The Walking Dead

Ever since I was a kid, I am a fan of zombies, whether it be a a game or a movie.

I am really hooked up into Resident Evil 3 Nemesis in play station one and computer. Eventually, the movie was released. There came Resident Evil. Resident Evil Apocalypse followed. Resident Evil Extinction came afterward. Then, we have Resident Evil Afterlife. I watched them a lot over and over again.

Although I wasn't able to follow the story of the games Capcom release, I like the story shown in the movie. When Extinction came out, the first time I watched it, I kind of became confused. The first and second movie were awesome and then all of a sudden, it was like that? They killed my idol, Carlos Olivera, and my other idol, Jill Valentine, had only a small time appearance. I also disliked Afterlife. However, for the third and fourth movie, as I watched them repeatedly, I finally liked them and I understood the story. Now, I'm waiting for the reappearance of Jill on the fifth movie. I am still hoping to see Ada Wong.

This is the first time that I saw a zombie story that is in series. It's entitled The Walking Dead. I like it so much. I remember 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, I Am Legend. I finished the first season already. Although the reason how everything got started wasn't explained, I was amazed at how the story went. It was a story of how to survive a city full of zombies while facing some struggles and conflicts with your comrades.

"Just one bite, one scratch, you will become one of them." My most memorable line of the red queen in Resident Evil 1 and "Shoot them in the head!" of Jill Valentine in Resident Evil Apocalypse.

Now, the word that you'll hear from me will be "Walkers!"

Oh, by the way, I am entertained in Plants vs Zombies. It is a relaxing zombie story contrasted to other zombie stories like Left for Dead. Hehe.. XD