Wishing The Neverending Story would end

I have vague memories of watching The Neverending Story and loving it as a young child. I have pretty much forgotten about it until I got reminded by The Emo Game 2, whose ending was a parody of The Neverending Story’s. My cousin Mark, who was playing the game with me, bought the DVD the next time we went to the mall and I got around to finally seeing it again last weekend.

The set was just as gorgeous and magical as I remembered. Sadly, that’s about the only wonderful thing about the movie that I can think of. See, acting is an important part in a film. It’s bad enough when one actor can’t express emotions properly, but to have a whole cast deliver their lines woodenly just ruins the whole experience for you.

Another problem I had with the movie were the logical flaws in the plot and in its ending. (For those who actually want to see this movie, skip to the next paragraph.) Why did Bastian hide out in the school’s attic reading the book instead of going home like a sensible child? Why wasn’t anyone looking for him? And what in God’s name does giving The Childlike Empress a new name have to do with saving Fantasia? It makes absolutely no sense.

Then there are the things that clashed with my personal taste. Why does Atreyu remind me so much of Hanson in their early days? Why does the scenery look so blue-screened? Why is this movie so much suckier than I remembered it to be?

I’m actually hoping for a Hollywood remake because I can just see The Neverending Story become a more beautiful movie with decent actors and the latest in movie-making technology. As it is, I shall give this film a 2/5–yes, the props and set deserve to have a whole 2 points to themselves.

The not-quite-almighty American dollar

I still haven’t quite gotten over how expensive things are here. In the Philippines, $20 can get me a pair of jeans, three or four great-looking tops, and a pedicure. Here, $20 can’t even get me a pair of jeans on sale, and any tops priced lower than twenty are poorly made or fit badly.

My hairdresser in the Philippines charges Php 350 for a haircut, which is roughly around $6. I went to my aunt’s hairdresser last weekend, who charged me a whopping $45 to snip off a few inches of hair! It was a good haircut but still. I was only prepared to spend around $25 for that. Today, my aunt treated me to a pedicure that cost $20. Though I sat on a chair that massaged my back, it’s still very expensive compared to my Php 200 pedicure ($3.50) back in Manila.

I don’t even bother converting these prices into pesos because that will just make me feel cheated and guilty. But the exhorbitant prices in this country taught me to restrain myself and think every item through before pulling out my wallet.

The questions I usually ask myself every time I am tempted to buy stuff are:
Is it on sale? If it is, is it worth buying? (So far, everything I have bought was on sale.)
Can I buy this at the Philippines?
Will I die if I don’t have this item?
Can I afford it?

And I recommend any traveller to ask himself/herself these everytime you go to a mall or bazaar abroad. There’s nothing like buying a random item from another country to make you feel like you really traveled.

Bikram yoga

I think I may be turning into a health nut of sorts. I took a yoga class at Bikram Yoga College of India in El Cerrito a couple of days ago with my aunt and it was the most challenging yet worthwhile workout I have ever had. Apparently, there are many kinds of yoga and bikram yoga is just one of them.

When I signed up for the class, I didn’t think it would be difficult. I mean, how hard can it be to do a couple of poses? Of course, I forgot that every new workout program is very difficult at first. Particularly if this workout program requires you to stay in a heated room for 90 minutes. The reason for the heat is so we can go into the asanas (yoga poses) more deeply with lesser risk for injury, and so we can release the toxins in our body through sweating. I have never sweated so much in my life. My body must have created new sweat glands just for that class because I was simply drenched. As for the asanas? I could do them easily at first, but as the class progressed, it became more difficult for me to hold the poses. Towards the end I was just going through the motions and not really caring if I was doing it right. It was hot, and I was exhausted and dying to have a shower.

Maybe it was just because it’s my first time, but doing yoga itself wasn’t very relaxing. After the class, however, I felt so revived and healthy that I actually had a spinach and carrot salad for lunch. I’m definitely looking forward to my yoga class tomorrow morning, not just for the workout but because I feel so incredibly fulfilled and refreshed afterwards.

For more information on bikram yoga and its benefits, go here.