Merry Christmas :)

Christmas time is here.
I sit by the window and think of you.
As I remember the days,
I realise I don’t miss you anymore.

The laughter and the joy,
The memories that were left to fade
They are coming back to me
And my heart is filled with warmth once more.

Maybe time has eased every emotion.
Or maybe I’ve finally learnt to live the life I have.
I’m not sure but all I know right now is
I don’t miss you anymore.

and that could be The Magic of Christmas.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

Happy Christmas to all of you.

Warm Regards,
Mel

Film Review 58: Deck The Hall

I’m watching this show because I’ve promised to review more Christmas movies and I hate to not fulfil my own words. This is a pretty lousy choice of flick but it could have been worse.

One look at the title, you know Deck The Hall is definitely a Christmas movie. It is actually made for TV screening in 2006. I get the impression that TV movie is the kind of movie that people are not willing pay to watch, which simply means it is not very good. Deck The Hall is an example but it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

The story about two neighbours who are at loggerheads and fighting against each other doesn’t sound very interesting. If anything, I hate watching on-screen arguments which go on and on throughout the film. I watch film to be entertain, to learn something and not to look at people arguing over matters that I couldn’t care less about. Fortunately, the otherwise-horrendous film is salvaged by great lead actors, Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick. They are very entertaining and fun to look at. The ending is pretty good too. Although it’s unrealistic but I guess we can say that it illuminates the magic of Christmas, if there’s such thing.

Mel says: 3/10

Don’t bother watching Deck The Hall. I recommend my two favourite Christmas movies: Home Alone 1 and Love Actually. I heard The Holiday (2006) is pretty good but I haven’t watched it. :( Such a shame for a movie junkie like me.

Love Rain.

Days to Christmas: Four.

I didn’t watch any movie recently so there’s isn’t any review to post. :(
But don’t you worry. I’m not gonna let the Christmas spirit goes away.
Here’s a short film by Pixar for you!
I picked one that best suit the season. Enjoy.

Do check out Pixar’s other shorts too. ;)

I have a really bad headache and I have to be up early.
Better get some rest now.
Talk to you lata folks. :)

My Grown-Up Christmas List

Days to Christmas: Seven.

I’ve never really written a Christmas List before, except when I was a kid. Probably because I feel that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday and instead of asking Him for presents, I should be giving Him gifts. Makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s fine if you disagree. Sometimes I find it difficult to understand myself too. lol.

This year I tried my best to be good and honestly, I’m drained. It’s not easy to be good when you bottle is filled almost to the brim. For the effort I’ve put in, I’m gonna reward myself with a grown-up Christmas List! :)

Dear God,

Your birthday is around the corner. I’m still working on Your birthday gift but if You don’t mind, I have a Christmas list which I hope You can help me with.

1. 14 years ago when I was bugging Santa to give me a sticker book with heaps of fanciful stickers, my sister made one selfless wish. That wish has yet to fully come true. I pray for it to come true God.

2. I pray for Your presence and blessings to be upon the people on my Thank-You list (refer to the 2nd previous post) and the rest of names I have in mind.

3. I pray for everyone to have a friend. I know how important that is.

4. …

I guess that’s all. Thank You God.

I thought writing a Christmas wish list is suppose to be easy. Not true!! God has been so kind to me that I feel undeserving to be asking for more. Besides, I don’t know what to ask for. All the good things don’t necessarily bring happiness and the bad things happen for reasons. What is there to wish for? Anyway most of my wishes always come true. So I don’t need to make a list on Christmas season because I have Christmas magic all year-round. ;)

This is the way to cut watermelon in December.

Let me share the secret behind my magical gift.
When I was young, days before Christmas I always write to Santa about what I want for Christmas. However I stopped doing so because I reckon Santa will be busy dealing with so many people’s wishes. Instead, I choose to write to him on any random day when the Christmas madness has gone. I want Santa to know that I remember him always, not just on Christmas. That way Santa tends to be more generous with your wish list and that’s how you make all your wishes come true.

Have all your wishes come true this season! :D

P.S: What is the difference between a grown-up Christmas list and an ordinary Christmas list?

Film Review 57: Unaccompanied Minors

I wanna review Christmas movies in the month of December to get everyone in the mood for the season. :) So here’s the first Christmas movie!

I remember traveling as Unaccompanied Minor in 1998. For unknown reason my economy seat was upgraded to business class. Being a U.M was a good experience. However the kids in this movies aren’t that lucky.

Six UMs are trapped in the UM room of Hoover International Airport along with heaps of overly rowdy UMs on Christmas eve because their flights are cancelled due to blizzard. Five of them managed to escape from the havoc and Mr Poter, the manager of the airport as well as the Grinch, is determine to get them and lock them up in “hell”. In trying to elude Mr Porter, the UMs have their night to remember as they form a new “family”.

I’m not sure if I’ve grown out of children movie or the movie plot is too exaggerated for my liking. The kids behave way over their ages that it made me sick. In fact I think Mr Porter is just doing his job and the minors are making things difficult for him. The “Grinch” is not a bad person really… or maybe I’m just turning into a pessimist. lol. Anyway, I came to accept the kids after constantly reminding myself that it’s only a friendly Christmas movie. Can’t say I like the UMs but they are less annoying as the story goes.

Movies with Kid heroes don’t really appeal to me because I think kids shouldn’t try to act as adults. We’re only young once, so what’s the hurry? I like movies with smart kids, not act-smart kids. There’s huge different and unfortunately, the UMs are more like the latter.

For a nice Christmas movie with kid hero, watch Home Alone instead.

Mel says: 4/10

Somewhere Along The Way.

Christmas is coming. It’s my favourite season of the year. :) Although I always have mix feeling about Christmas, it never fails to warm my heart. I’m gonna take this time to share the warmth with some very special people. I remember doing this back in junior high school when my seniors were leaving. I still miss them much. Anyway.

Here’s a little dedication entry for some Pieces of the Puzzle I’ve collected.

To One who opened the way for me to fly.
To One who speaks nothing but cares much.
To One who sees the life ahead of me.
To One who cherishes me as much.
To One who took me into a world I could only dreamed of.
To One who smiles in good times and bad times.
To One who does the little things which count.
To One who taught me to appreciate life.
To One who accepts silence as an answer.
To One who trusts in my judgement.
To One who brightens the memory.
To One who tells story of adventures.
To One who adds colours to my world.
To One who gives me room to love a little more.
To One who inspires me to aim for higher ground.
To One who built the bridge for me to cross over.
To One who told me the troubles of life and lives on.
To One who talked to me when droplets were about to fall.
To One who made me realise the bittersweetness of life.
To One who showed me kindness beyond my understanding.
To One who speaks a different language with common feeling.
To One who made me experience different kinds of emotions.
To One who remained the same through the changes in life.
To One who said a sentence which lasts forever.
To One who stayed with me in the tunnel.
To One who made me laugh the most.
To One who cried when I could not.
To One who lets me write on the blank papers.
To One who gives purpose to my life.

A big THANK YOU to all of You.

This list could go on, but I’m not gonna bore you with a never-ending list. ;)
That’s all for now… Ah, and Thank You for reading.
God bless.

Love,
Mel.

Film Review 56: Nana

4:19 a.m.

I wanted to watch a light movie because I don’t wanna carry a heavy heart to sleep. So I picked a Japanese film, Nana, which is adapted from a manga (comic). The synopsis says it is about a coincidental friendship between two unlike girls of the same age and same name. I thought ‘how heavy can such movie be?’, didn’t realised I was going to watch one of the most sentimental movies ever. Before you keep reading, let me apologise upfront for the one-sided review. The effect it has on me made it difficult to be objective.

Welcome to Lost Avenue!

People get lost from time to time. Whether by choice or unknowingly, the fact that you arrive in Lost Avenue means it’s fated to be. Don’t worry.
Here some tips on what to do if you’re lost :)

1. Shout out loud.
Obviously if you are too far away, no one can hear you. That’s why you ought to shout to know how far out you are. If you are not too far away, someone will come to your rescue.

2. Look around.
Since you are lost, and pray you won’t lost twice, might as well go all out and look around. Who knows you might bump into people or things that can lead you to where you should be.

3. List out things to do once you’ve found your way.
This is the best time to know what you really want to do. Little things you miss, they probably are your little sources of happiness.

4. Read the map carefully.
A map can be in any form, such as bible, textbook, diary, whatever form of papers you are holding on to. There’ll be a problem if you don’t carry any piece of useful papers with you. Finding a way back is so much easier with a guide.

5. Leave traces behind.
Simple reason; so you won’t walk the same path twice.

6. Pick things up along the way.
Those things are reminders of where you’ve been. When you’ve found your way, do a little research on where you lost yourself. It might be quite interesting.

7. Stay where you are.
This is an absolute last resort when you can’t think of anything else to do. Count 1 to infinity. Some time in between, someone will surely appear in time to get you out.

8. Look out for me.
I’m a Permanent Residence of Lost Avenue. If you need food, drinks, shelter or companion, I might be able to help. First, you have to locate me.

On behalf of everyone here, I hope you have a meaningful visit.
We hope to see how much you’ve grown and learnt on your next visit here.
Have a nice day. :)