Monthsary today

75 months now hehe

Did nothing special. Well we did - we had dinner at Fisherman's with my sister and her boyfriend.

Lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse as seen from the Carter Observatory in Kelburn, Wellington

This is what we're supposed to see. We went out the balcony around 8:50pm last night to watch the moon slowly fade to black - when the earth's shadow blocks the moon. Then it became too chilly outside so we went it. We went back and forth outside to check the moon but the skies became too cloudy. I was also trying to take a picture of the eclipse - fat chance - hehe. Too bad we missed the part when the moon became a reddish glow.

They said the next total lunar eclipse that is visible from New Zealand is not due until 2014.

Whale Rider

"One young girl dared to confront the past, change the present and determine the future."

If you want to learn more about NZ culture, particularly Maori culture, I recommend you watch this film. It gives you a glimpse of Maori society here in NZ. The film is low-budget without all the Hollywood fru fru and even though it is a simple story, it is very well told and the actors gave compelling performances especially Keisha Castle-Hughes who played Pai, who Darwin say has a very strong stage presence.

Basically, the film is about a young girl who has to fulfill her destiny and in the process, fight her grandfather and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill it.

My only gripe about this film is that it would have been better if there were English subtitles on the Maori chants/songs so people could have a better understanding on what they mean. But overall, it was a moving and beautiful film. The ending was also... not quite what you expect I guess.

The film was released in 2002 and has been nominated and won lots of awards.

Watch the trailer:

Wellington

Driving around Wellington...

We were looking for Lyall bay but ended up here in Island bay...

The beach at your front:

...the mountain behind you:

and the ground we stood on:

Driving on...

The Motorway - 105 km/hr

Mt. Victoria lookout!!

Yeah this is what Wellington looks like, somewhat like Baguio!!

Schmap Travel Guides

Today, I got an email that my photos were included in the third edition of the Schmap Wellington Guide. Kinda cool actually, even though I haven't heard of Schmap.com before. Lol. When I want to go some place, I just google "places to see", "tourist spots", etc. which gives me lots of results and links to travel websites and other people's personal blogs. Hehe.

Hmmm... maybe I'll put up my own travel blog in New Zealand. HMMMMM....

Knocked Up

Believe the hype. It's one of the funniest films this year!! The characters are so real, you can relate to them. The prosthetics is also good. Gone are the days when actresses who played pregnant women will do so by putting a pillow under their dress. With the resources we have today, it can get real as much as we want it to be. I also loved the credits at the end of the film. Who doesn't love baby pictures? Awww.

One thing I find it hard to understand about men in general (which was also shown in this film) is them wanting to have their "sanity" time. I remember Dar and I had this talk before about his "sanity" thing. Geeez. All of us need time to get away from it all sometimes.

Free movie passes

I did a favor for my officemate and he asked me how much for my time and I said don't worry about it (coz it's actually Darwin who made it hehe). Well after lunch he gave me 2 movie passes. Yey! :) We're going to watch Knocked Up probably tomorrow.


No need to wait for cheap Tuesdays HEHEHE...

Oriental Bay, Wellington

Around 15 minute walk from my place, if you just want to stroll and think. Quite peaceful and away from the city noise.