how to not make an omelette

The first time I tried it, I attempted to flip the egg before it had become sufficiently solid and I ended up with an egg mash.

The second time, I did not flip the egg soon enough and the sides turned too brown.

The third time, I added too much milk.

The fourth time, I added too much cheese.

This morning, I forgot to add salt.

As Thomas Edison would say, I am on my way to discovering 1000 ways to not make an omelette.

This I did not make.

But the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I only have around 995 attempts more to go before I perfect my technique. It's all good.

why I watch movies

A bootleg copy of Red, the 2010 film starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich as ex-spies, had been figuratively gathering dust in my D drive until I learned who else was in the cast.

Karl Urban.

Nothing in the world could have induced me to go see Priest, not even if Karl Urban had sported long blond braided hair and kept shouting "Rohirrim!" in the movie -- which, anyway, I would presume he did not -- but Red I could handle. And I'm glad I did finally watch it: John Malkovich was precious as a paranoid old geezer, and the movie was fun!

And then last Saturday, a bunch of us trooped to the Ayala Cinema to see X-Men: First Class. By that time, several friends had proclaimed it awesome, but I admit I was looking forward to watching the movie for another reason: Mr. Tumnus, Quintus Dias, and the only man in the world who is zero degrees from Kevin Bacon. James McAvoy, with those eyes and intelligent charm, was the perfect Professor X. And who can resist a guy named Michael Fassbender?

"I have a new way to link Johnny Depp to Kevin Bacon!" I jubilantly declared to my husband, who rolled his eyes. (He was in The Tourist with Angelina Jolie, who was in Wanted with James McAvoy, who is in X-Men: First Class with Kevin Bacon! Previously, I had to go through Angelina being in Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt, who was in The Tree of Life with Sean Penn, who was...wait for it...in Mystic River with Kevin Bacon! I'm pretty sure Johnny Depp actually has a smaller Bacon number, but my fund of Kevin Bacon films is somewhat limited, and why for heaven's sake I persist in playing this game I can't say.)

And by the way, the movie was awesome.

So there it is: I sometimes watch movies for who's in them. What can I say? I'm shallow. Sometimes.

Oh, and I can now say I personally know someone who is only 2 degrees from Kevin Bacon. How cool is that?

that little dash

We're all dying. Whether it's Armageddon, a sudden heart attack, a chronic illness, or just the long slow march to the grave, the mortality rate of the human race has been roughly 100% and we will not be the exception that justifies the "roughly," unless we do an Enoch, an Elijah, or a King Arthur -- and let's face it, what are the chances? Still, if it's any consolation, if you're reading this, you're unlikely to have kicked the bucket yet, and that's something.

To paraphrase Kevin Welch, there will be two dates on our tombstone, but all that's gonna matter is that little dash in between.

This bucket list is courtesy of AnaKat, CebuMD, JA, Atep, Brian, Remo, Chin and myself. The song Live Like You Were Dying is by Tim McGraw. Mel provides the necessary caveat: bucket lists, when we rely on them to give meaning to our existence, can become a source of disillusionment.

I think the greater part of happiness does rely on our contentment with who we are and what we have. Our dreams, on the other hand, are the wings with which we soar to new heights. They are the icing on an already delicious cake, so to speak. Will we be happier for having gone skydiving? Perhaps; perhaps not. But I'd still like to try.

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If I had more time, I would have written this sooner. ^_^

This is the 2nd edition of the 2nd season of The Blog Rounds: Voice of The Filipino Doctor.