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Matt King (George Clooney) is a Honolulu-based lawyer and the sole trustee of a family trust that controls 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kaua'i. The trust will expire in seven years because of the rule against perpetuities, so the King family has decided to sell the land to Kaua'i native Don Holitzer for development. Just before family members are ready to formally endorse the deal, which Matt favors, a boating accident near Waikīkī renders Matt's wife, Elizabeth, comatose.

Matt and Elizabeth have two daughters, 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) and 17-year-old Alex (Shailene Woodley). Matt is not very close to his daughters and refers to himself as the "back-up parent." With Elizabeth in a coma at Queen's Hospital, he is forced to confront Scottie's inappropriate behavior with other children and Alex's destructive behaviors.

Matt learns that Elizabeth will never awaken from her coma, which means that under the terms of her living will she must be disconnected shortly from life support. He tells Alex, but not Scottie, that Elizabeth will not recover and must be allowed to die. Alex tells her father that Elizabeth was having an affair at the time of the accident. Matt confronts two family friends, Kai and Mark, and learns that Elizabeth's lover is Brian Speer(Matthew Lillard).

Matt decides to tell Brian that Elizabeth will soon be dead to give him a chance to visit her while she's still alive. He discovers that Brian is a real estate agent currently vacationing on Kaua'i. After telling the family of Elizabeth's terminal prognosis, Matt, along with the girls and Alex's slacker friend Sid (Nick Krause), travels to Kaua'i to find Brian.

Matt goes jogging on the beach and passes a man that he recognizes as Brian. He trails him and sees him enter a cottage, owned by Matt's cousin, Hugh (Beau Bridges). Hugh tells him that Brian is Don Holitzer's brother-in-law, and if Matt and his family sell the land to Holitzer, Brian stands to gain a lot of money from commissions when the land is developed.

Matt goes to the cottage and introduces himself as Elizabeth's husband. He tells Brian that he is there to let him know that Elizabeth will die in a few days and he wants to give Brian a chance to say goodbye. Brian says that while Elizabeth loved him, the affair was only a fling for him, and he loves his wife and family. He tells Matt he is sorry for the pain he caused.

Matt meets with his many cousins to vote on the fate of the family's 25,000 acres. The majority vote for Don Holitzer, but Matt has second thoughts and decides to keep the land and find a different solution. Shocked, Hugh tells Matt that he and the other cousins may take legal action, but Matt is undeterred.

At Queen's Hospital, Elizabeth is taken off life support. Her father visits and tells Matt he should have been a more generous and loving husband to Elizabeth, whom he describes as a good and faithful wife. Matt agrees with him, choosing to not disclose the details of Elizabeth's affair to her father. Later, Julie Speer (Judy Greer) arrives, telling Matt she is now aware of the tryst between Elizabeth and her husband. Julie forgives Elizabeth, even though she wants to hate her for destroying her family. Alex and Scottie say their final goodbyes, then leave Matt alone with Elizabeth. Finally coming to terms with his wife's betrayal, Matt tenderly kisses her and tells her goodbye. Later, Matt, Alex, and Scottie scatter Elizabeth's ashes in the ocean off Waikiki. The film closes with the three curled up on the living room couch, wearing Elizabeth's hospital blanket, eating ice cream, and watching March of the Penguins.

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Five days to go until Davao...

I am a hundred and five pounds... still fifteen pounds shy of my ideal weight...


Although, I feel fine... well, beside my neuropathy... I have not been sick... Thank God... I am kind of expecting I'd be sick with our erratic weather... but so far, I have been fine...


Neuropathic pain still plagues me but I am learning to live with it... tolerate it... I think I... my body... is beginning to accept it as a fact, a part of me... that it would always be there and that I can not do anything about it but just live with it and raise from it...


I plan to find and go back to work once I get back from Davao...

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"The Help" made me cry... it was the scene when Skeeter forced her mother to tell her what happened to Constantine, their help who basically raised her... my heart bled when Charlotte, Skeeter's mother, ordered her to leave, and she looked back through the door, pleading... and that when her mom tells her Constantine was dead already, Skeeter concluded, "You broke her heart..." 

I thoroughly enjoyed the film... I saw "Iron Lady" and though Meryl Streep gave a brilliant performance, and that a third Oscar was long due... I think Viola Davis gave a better performance...

The Prologue of the novel introduces the out-kingdom Northern wilderness beyond the Wall, an ancient 700-foot-high, 300-mile-long barrier of ice and magic fortifying the Seven Kingdoms, manned by the order of the Night's Watch. In the lawless lands North of the Wall, a small patrol of Rangers from the Night's Watch encounter the Others, an ancient and evil race of beings thought to be long extinct; with all killed except a single survivor (who flees south, becoming the deserter who Ned executes). Jon Snow, the bastard son of Lord Eddard and despised by Catelyn, is inspired by his uncle, Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, to "take the black" and go to the Wall. Jon travels North to the Wall with the Queen's brother, Tyrion Lannister, and other members of the Night's Watch. He becomes disillusioned when he discovers that it is little more than a penal colony meant to keep wildlings in check.

At the Wall, Jon unites the recruits against their harsh instructor, and protects cowardly but good-natured Samwell Tarly. Jon hopes that his combat skills will earn him assignment to the Rangers, the military arm of the Night's Watch. Instead he is assigned as steward to the Lord Commander of the Watch, Jeor Mormont, nicknamed "the Old Bear". He arranges for his friend Samwell Tarly to be made steward to elderly Maester Aemon. Meanwhile, Benjen Stark leads a small party of Rangers on patrol beyond the Wall but fails to return. Nearly six months later, the dead bodies of two of the Rangers from Benjen's party are recovered from beyond the Wall, and their corpses re-animate as wights in the night. Undeterred by sword wounds, they kill six men while Jon and his direwolf, Ghost, save Lord Commander Mormont by destroying one of the wights with fire. For saving his life, Mormont presents Jon with the Valyrian-steel bastard sword "Longclaw", an heirloom of the Lord Commander's house. Lord Mormont replaced the existing bear pommel with a pommel in the shape of a white direwolf's head, representing both House Stark and Jon's direwolf.

When word of his father's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to desert the Night's Watch and join his half-brother Robb's war against the Lannisters. His friends among the Brotherhood convince him to return. Mormont convinces Jon that his place is with his new brothers, and that the war for the throne does not compare to the evil that winter is about to bring upon them from the north.

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I'm sorry... but I didn't like "The Artist"... I think the academy got it wrong this year... I like "Hugo" far more...


I have no problem with it being in black and white and that it was a silent film... but then, I guess I was expecting something from it, some grandeur...? Something exciting...? something more fun...? I don't know... and the story was annoying and almost silly... they say it is a story of an actor who was not able to coupe up with the changes, the end of the silent movies and the advent of talkies... the main character just struck me as stubborn... he bought his downfall to himself and that I didn't feel pity on him... "Singing in the Rain" have the same subject, but the characters struggled to coupe up with it and ultimately succeeded... "The Artist" until the end stayed stubborn not wanting to do anything about talkies...

  

I was at RITM yesterday... got myself 3 months supply of ARV... that's done...


I was hoping I was to finally have my CD4 count... but then, 1st I was told that I have paid my Philhealth for this quarter only, I need to pay for the next quarter and to submit an updated MDR before I can have my CD4... It was explained to me that I should pay the quarter about to start and not before it ends, which was what I was doing... I was also advised that if I have the money, it would be a good idea to pay for the rest of the year already as Philhealth would increase contribution by July... 


And even if there was no problem with my Philhealth, they have problems with the CD4... machine, I guess... that I need to be scheduled for it...


Funny thing was that... well, aside from my neuropathy, I am not feeling anything... I feel fine... not been sick lately... so I have no cause to consult or have myself checked up by a doctor... to which in my past visit I was always asked, why would I want to consult the doctor... So when I went there yesterday, I had no plans on having myself checked up... but then they insisted I should... but then again, it was lunch break already and decided to just give me the meds... 


hehehehehehehehehe...

Still on "Games of Thrones", the first installment of George R.R. Martin epic fantasy "A Song of Ice and Fire", Across the narrow sea was Viserys and his sister Daenerys Targaryen... They are the   the children of King Aerys II, the "Mad King", who was depose by King Robert's rebellion... they survived the slaughter of the house of Targaryen and now on exile... Viserys was determined to return one day at Westerous to reclaim his throne... To do that he would need to raise an army to overthrow King Robert... He sold his sister in marriage to Karl Drogo, a warlord of Dothraki horse warrior...

Karl Drogo show little interest in conquering Westerous, provoking the temperamental Viserys and lashing out on his sister, who unexpectedly fell inlove with the barbaric Drogo... at first Karl Drogo endures Viserys but then when he publicly threaten the pregnant Deanerys in public, he executed him by pouring hot molten gold on his head--the golden crown as promised...

King Robert, learning that Deanerys was now a queen of Dothraki and was pregnant, saw her a threat to his throne, and so ordered to have her assassinated... a failed attempt on her life convinced Karl Drogo to conquer the Westerous but was wounded while sacking villages to fund the invasion... The wound festers, and Daenerys commands a captive maegi to use blood magic to save him; however, the treacherous maegi sacrifices Daenerys' unborn child to power the spell, which keeps Drogo alive in a vegetative state. As the leaderless Dothraki horde disbands, Daenerys takes pity on her once-proud husband and smothers him. Eager for revenge, she orders the maegi tied to Drogo's funeral pyre and places her three petrified dragon eggs, a gift to her on her wedding, on the pyre with Drogo. While she watches it burn, Daenerys was seduced by the beauty of the flames and walks into the inferno. Instead of perishing in the flames, she emerges unscathed and with three newly-hatched dragons draped around her. The few remaining Dothraki swear their allegiance to her.

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I was supposed to go last Monday... but the sky was gloomy and was afraid I'll get caught up in the rain... plus, I thought, because it was a Monday, there would be a lot of people... Tuesday, same story... the sky still gloomy... Wednesday, no CD4, so no... Today is Thursday, a transport strike... not a good idea...

I dreamed last night that I went but for some reason... I forgot, I guess... I didn't get any...

I have to go on the morrow... I need to... I wouldn't have any... I only have to EFAV tablets left...

I have been listening to, not reading, to George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy "A Song of Fire and Ice" and I just finished the 3rd installment: "A Storm of Swords" and starting on the 4th book: "A Feast For Crows"... Audio book, that is... downloaded, illegally, would admit to that, through torrent...

Yes, I read a lot... I love literature... so much that at one point, I even thought I could do literature... write... but, well, some would love to dance ballet but don't have the feet for it... I don't have the hands for it...

Anyway, just to get you up in speed... "A Song of Fire and Ice" was the novel in which the HBO acclaimed series "Games of Thrones" was based on... and it was actually, what made me look it up the internet...

The first book: "The Games of Thrones" introduces us to the Starks, one of the noble houses in the Seven Kingdom of Westeros, and the home Winterfell... Eddard "Ned" Stark was the warden of the North, known in all over Westeros as a very principled and honorable man... his wife Catelyn Stark was the eldest daughter of the house Tally, and sister to Lysa Arryn, wife of Jon Arryn, who was like a father to Ned and the hand of the king, King Robert Baratheon...

Following the death of Jon Arryn, King Robert paid Ned a visit at Winterfell, with his wife Queen Cersie of the powerful House of Lanister, his children including Prince Joffrey, heir to the throne, and his court which includes Jaime Lanister, twin to Cersie and their younger brother, Tyrion who was a dwarf and was known as the imp...

Robert was once to be wed to Ned's sister Lyanna who was kidnapped by Prince Rhaeger Targaryen, King Aery's heir. This and the brutal murder of Ned's father and brother when they were trying get back Lyanna resulted to the rebellion that brought down the Targaryen and hailed Robert the king...

Robert made Ned, being a trusted friend, the new hand of the king, to which the latter reluctantly he accepts and despite Lady   Catelyn's defiance as this will take her husband away from her to be at Kinglanding, Seven Kingdom's capital...

 

At the start of the novel, they found a dead direwolf with five orphaned pups... one for each of Lord Eddard's children to Lady Catelyn: Rob, the eldest and heir to Winterfell... the beautiful Sansa, betrothed to Prince Joffrey, then there's Arya, Bran and Rickon... He has one bastard son, Jon Snow, whom he bought home after the rebellion and treated equal to his other legitimate children... But Jon Snow, though have got well on with his half siblings, particularly Rob and Arya, he have always felt an outsider in Winterfell specially to Lady Catelyn who sees him as a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity... as they were to leave where they have found the five direwolf pups, they saw another pup, an albino, which Jon took for himself...

Bran, the fourth of the Stark children loves to climb and explore... and that he insistently climbs the walls and towers of Winterfell despite of Lady Catelyn's forbidding in fear he would one day he would fall... on the day before he leaves Winterfell with his father to Kingslanding, he thought he should climb the walls and tower for the last time. There he have chanced to pass a tower window and witnessed Queen Cersie and his twin brother Jaime on an incestuous act... Jaime caught him and pushed him out of the window to kill him... Bran survived but was in a coma... an assassin armed with a fine dagger tried to kill Bran on his comatose and Lady Catelyn who was watching over him but Bran's direwolf, which he named Summer when he woke up later, saved them by killing the assassin...

Lady Catelyn now convinced that Bran fall was not an accident and suspects it was the Lanisters sent the assassin and want her son dead, traveled to Kingslanding through ship carrying with her the fine dagger the assassin was armed with... She was met by Petyr "Little Finger" Baelish, a childhood admirer and identified the dagger to be of the Imp's... After, secretly meeting her husband and warning of the impeding danger, Lady Catelyn was to make her way home, back in Winterfell... on her way home, he chanced meet the Imp on the road and have him captive... She bought him to the remote Eyrie, where her sister Lady Lyssa, inheriting it from her late husband Jon Arryn, rules... Lady Lyssa suspects that her husbands death was the doing of the Lanisters and was eager to execute the Imp... but Tyrion demanded a trial by combat to which Bronn, a sellsword, volunteered to be his champion... Bronn won the duel against the champion of the Vale and thus he and Tyrion was free to go...

 

Lord Eddard was at King's Landing with two of her daughters: Sansa and Arya... he assumed his duties as the hand of the king at the same time tries to investigate the sudden death of Jon Arryn... in his investigation he found out that Prince Joffrey was not King Robert's son and so were his siblings... knowing that if he tells the king, he would murder not only his queen wife and her children, he confront Queen Cersie first to give them a chance to escape... But King Robert was killed in hunt before Lord Eddard was able to tell him... 

Renly, the king's youngest brother, offers him to combined their household guard to detained the Queen and her children, and proclaim him as the rightful heir... Lord Eddard refused on the ground that it was Stannis, the second of the Baratheon brothers was the rightful heir... Renly fled King's Landing and Lord Eddard came to Little Finger to have the city guards to arrest and charge the queen... But Little Finger betrayed Lord Eddard and was instead arrested and charged for treason...

Upon learning the arrest of his father, Rob rallied the north to rescue his father and his sisters... Lord Tywin, the patriarch of the house of Lannister, wage war to the Starks and Tully to prevent their advance to King's Landing and retaliation of Tyrion's abduction by Lady Starks...

Rob needed the help of Lord Walder Frey, who holds the twin, a pair of castles on each bank of the Green Fork of the Trident that serves as a vital bridge across the river. They need to cross the river... Lady Catelyn, joining her son and the northmen, went to talk to Lord Walder Frey to solicit his alliance ... she succeeded but with condition that Rob will marry one of Lord Walder's daughter after the war... Rob agreed and through this have seized back River Run from the Lannisters and capturing Jaime.

But Lord Eddard was executed at King's Landing by now King Joffrey despite Sansa's plea and his mother, Queen Cersie's council to just send Lord Eddard to the wall and becomes a Night's Watch... 

The northmen decided they want to separate from hold of the realm and proclaimed the Rob the king of the North... Renley with the support of the House Baratheon and House Tyrell, proclaimed King Joffrey's illegitimacy and declares himself as the righful king... 

  

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The guard said they are off line... to which I thought, "what, like an atm...? I can't withdraw..."

I was at Philhealth, I think Cainta branch... not sure, the one at the Brickroad, at the back of Sta Lucia East Mall...

I was to pay my quarterly contribution... for January to March... need to take care of that... and besides, I need an ID... I lost all my IDs when I got robbed more than a year ago... I have not come around of taking care of it... and now...

Well, when I went to Davao last year... I almost didn't get in my flight, I didn't have an ID, a government issued one, except my company ID... When I went to check in, they asked for an ID and apparently my company ID was not enough... good thing I have my medical records with me and one of the documents was my MDR from Philhealth, but even with that, the person at the counter have to consult with his superior if they would allow it and good thing they were forgiving of it...

So I need an ID... I thought since I am to pay my contribution to them at the same time, I might a well try to secure myself a Philhealth ID... but as the nice guard who does have strong eye contact informed me, they were off line... for a week already he said... and thus they can't issue an ID...

Bummer...

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Davao on March 27 to April 7, 2012

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