Saturday, November 09, 2002
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After a very freaky thunderstorm this afternoon (eek! it's 12:30AM, so okay, it happened yesterday), and after having our internet access cut off at work (probably because of said freaky incident), I headed for home... or at least tried to... but ended up getting stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours!!! Grrrrr.... And it's a trip that normally takes just about an hour and a half, and that's at rush hour! Argh! Now I know what it's gonna be like if the officials of the overpopulated planet of Coruscant decides to shut down all the air traffic lanes, and let people travel only by land. Yikes! Here's the weird thing. I normally (read: when I'm not doing overtime and when I'm truly lucky to be able to catch it) ride the same bus to and from work. Now this bus company's drivers are sort of notorious for being fast. Really fast. (yeah, I probably have a deathwish to be riding it every day! LOL!). There was one time when I actually got through rush hour traffic in under an hour! And all because the driver drove like he was in a podrace in Malastare! (Anakin Skywalker and Michael Schumacher, stand back! LOL!). And traffic in Manila doesn't let you do that, unless you are really skilled. So I found myself saying "The Force is strong in that one!" that day. But today, same bus, no such luck. Grrrrrr.... Ah, well.....

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Since "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is opening here in the Philippines earlier than in the US (November 13), I decided to try to hunt down the soundtrack CD last Thursday, but it seems it hasn't been released yet. :( (I instead ended up getting Santana's latest album, "Shaman", which I highly recommend. He's soooo cool.)

Starting with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" last year, I've been playing a little game with the movies for which my idol, John Williams, composed the musical score. I get the soundtrack CD and listen to it several times before going to watch the movie. And while I'm actually watching the film, I try to pinpoint which tracks are for which scenes, which sections were not included in the CD, which recurring themes comprised another theme, stuff like that. I know, I know, it's a weird thing to do, it's nerdy, it's queer, it's... well, weird! LOL. (But then, you probably already realized after reading the entries here that I AM... well... weird! Heehee!) It's all cool, though. You actually learn more about the story and the characters while listening to the themes.

Oh, the magic and excitement I felt upon hearing "Hedwig's Theme" again when I saw the Chamber of Secrets trailer.... :o)

By the way, John Williams' scores make for great driving music. Try driving on the freeway to the tune of "Anakin Beats Sebulba" (a.k.a. the podracing track from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace), and tell me if you can resist accelerating. Heheh. Or try "Moonlight" (with Sting on vocals) from the OST of Sabrina when you're stuck in traffic. It's guaranteed to make you forget that traffic has ground to a halt, and will make you feel like you're strolling down the streets of Paris with your beloved. ;)

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This blog has barely been up for a week, but its look has changed countless times already! LOL. Talk about being obsessive-compulsive! Despite that, this is only the third significant (but not really major) change, so technically, Across the Stars, as you see it right now, is at version 1.3. :)