THE NEXT ACT

The first session of the Seminar on Managing Stress is interesting because it directed me to a knowledge of whether I am stressed or not. Symptoms of stress are enumerated and for sure I have a couple of them. Hey! Hang on! Am I really stressed? I can just say to myself that I am not stressed and I am doing fine. Symptoms like these would just give me a wake up call that maybe I am. Regardless of the authenticity of these symptoms, having one or more of these traits would make my performance poorer. Whether I believe that these are authentic symptoms or not, regardless of the identification of the symptoms, I would accept the fact, given the big adjustments and the hang-ups of several changes after I moved in NZ such as culture, language and accents, weather, work relations and styles, that I together with all the pinoy immigrants are prone to stress. The level of stress depends on how you behave with changing circumstances. The enumerated symptoms can be beneficial after all

While visiting and taking pictures of several of pumping stations and water reservoirs in Ferrymead Zone as part of the data collections in coming up with a water supply model of the zone, I found an interesting subject behind Mt Pleasant Reservoir. This was an accidental art which is worth to take a deeper look. I took a picture and gave a special touch on the image.

While walking from the car park to Christchurch City Council, It has been a frequent practice for me to give a good-morning greeting to Mr. Charlie Chaplin standing on the brick footpath of Tuam Street. The man whose footsteps have been followed by Dolphy, Jackie Chan, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr and hundreds of comedians in the world is always found standing together with his legendary moustache, black baggy suit and cane at the corner of Tuam and High Street. Seeing him standing there with a subtle drollness in the face is sort of bringing me to the black and white movie era. I wish that I would have chance to take a picture of me and Charlie on that very same spot. I thought of bringing a camera and a tripod and making a quick shot during one of those sauntering in the morning. But somehow I was held back by shyness and prudence. I think that it would be less inhibited when I have someone to take the sought-after picture. I need a volunteer!! Charlie is somewhat the welcome doorma

I won’t tell you how wonderful the movie August Rush is. Many people have reviewed it and they are unison in saying “ IT IS A DARN GREAT MOVIE!”. I was watching it with Claire and she continued crying in every significant moment in the movie. Would she think that it was a remarkable movie? Well yeah. She liked it to the point that she rushed to phone Gemma and to tell her how great the movie was while the ending credits were still rolling in the tele screen. Can you beat that? Though some reviews would say it is just a fiction. For me, it’s not a fiction but a hopeful possibility. Anyone is destined to be great for a special reason. The kid was remarkably gifted and he believed that his special gift would draw him closer to his missing parents. Several touching moments were some of the important ingredients in the movie: Louie chasing Lyla while her father dragged her to his car; teary eyed August while being interviewed in the orphanage; August playing music for the first