Life gets better...

Sunday, November 09, 2008

About Schmidt

This one's an old post. Just feel like posting it again with minor revisions:

I love Jack Nicholson the same way I adore Robert De Niro. They are absolutely the most prolific actors of this time. No questions asked.

It was a thrill certainly that I finally got to see a film that has long been missing in my Nicholson collection. Jack was hilariously irritating in As Good as it Gets, charmingly vicious in The Departed and falsely mad in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Can anything be more interesting than those?

Well, there is one more Jack character that I so love. His portrayal of Warren Schmidt in About Schmidt is for me, his best so far. I was ready for a laugh trip given the first person perspective of the lead character and how his mind thought freely after his retirement from an insurance company in Omaha, Nebraska. Sure, there were funny moments especially when a very "bold" Kathie Bates flirts with Jack in a steaming tub (that was hilarious and I didn't see it coming, Christ's sake!) but I found myself crying towards the climax of the film. I hate myself for being a cry baby. Really, I am. Not too many films have made me weep though. This one did.

I somehow understand Warren's feelings. I felt really sorry for him that his job, his wife and even his daughter (who got married to a man Warren didn't think his daughter deserved) have all perished from his life and that ultimately in a time when he needed to get reassured that he led a good life, no one was there to convince him he did, not even himself. And so all the doubts came haunting him all throughout his journey. One simple yet meaningful drawing from a kid a thousand miles distant made him shed the tears he's been trying to keep for so long.

I guess all of us, at some point in our lives begin to question if we truly succeeded in life, if we made even a minute difference in this big old world we live in. I do get scared looking ahead myself, worrying that the same fate old Warren had trodden would happen to me.

But then, I believe...it's not what you've accomplished that matters in this life. It's how you accomplished all your triumphs and how well you handled your misfortunes and got up from them that truly matter in life. The question is not about what you've become for you could be the most famous actor or politician but it won't equate happiness and contentment. It is how you managed yourself as you earned your successes.

"I know we're all pretty small in the big scheme of things, and I suppose the most you can hope for is to make some kind of difference, but what kind of difference have I made? What in the world is better because of me?"

As Warren asks himself these favorite lines of mine from the film, he does get answered instantly. That no matter how little a good deed is, it does make a difference.

On the next US President

A Victory for the United States

The recent victory of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election has sparked a phenomenon the world has never before seen. Republicans, fellow Democrats and leaders of different countries expressed congratulatory remarks. The bigger chunk of Americans and people of various races the world over articulated support. Though not all voted for him in the recent election, a lot who didn’t now seem to be less hostile and more tolerant in giving the newly-elected president the benefit of the doubt. Surely enough, Senator Obama deserves such for he is a man not only gifted by great intelligence and unparalleled charisma but a man who also has a clear understanding and discernment of the needs of a people separated by differences in race, culture, religion, philosophy and opinion.

It seemed impossible that it would come, but it did and in a big way. Obama’s success is not merely the African-American community’s success. It’s the victory of the United States. One man of diverse cultural background is representing and ultimately uniting a country that has witnessed probably the vastest and most extensive cultural diversity in history.

One thing that is so commendable about Obama’s win is the way the American dream has been brought to light again. Never has such patriotism been so felt in any speech as was delivered by Senator Obama last Tuesday in front of all his supporters when he accepted his victory. He gave a light of hope amidst a crisis that divided and tormented the United States and its people. Obama came to battle the many problems Americans face today, and he didn’t come unprepared for the many challenges. He knows what his countrymen want and has a clear vision of what must be done to solve each problem. With proper execution and a keen sense of what is good for most people, there is no doubt that the Obama administration will lead its way to victory - for the American people.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Maybe

I've always dreamed of finding a partner I will love for the rest of my life and in those long years of searching, I never paused a moment of thinking that maybe I have found the right person or that he's just within my reach but it's still my overly stubborn heart that I keep on following. Maybe I've been wishing for too much from a prospect or that I've been searching for a world too perfect that love had eloped me for so long. I'm happy now that finally, I had mustered the courage to take a leap of faith at experiencing real love. Right now, I believe falling in love is just a few inches away from the long mile I have trudged all this time. Finally, I'm allowing myself to be loved and it's up for me to see how far it'll take me. I have learned to open up my heart and not my eyes alone. For this, I've never been happier.