CBAP SOMA Youth Camp 2010

It’s been 24 hours or so since I got home from the 3-day YGEN Camp in Tagaytay and I’m somehow agitated still. You know the feeling when you sleep the night after a swimming trip? Yeah, you feel like you’re still in the water. That’s what I’m feeling right now.

For me, this particular youth camp is very different from the others that I attended before in some aspects and I love it.

First, I attended not as a camper but as a counselor; being a youth camp counselor has its cons and pros. We were the first to wake up and the last to sleep. If something happens, we were the ones accountable. We barely have time to eat or rest, physically and mentally. It’s a tough job but people still do it because it’s for the glory of God; it’s for the dissemination of His holy word.

Second, this time I did not go alone, I’m with my church mates. And I’m so happy to see that my church mates also enjoyed the camp.

Third, I made lots of friends. And it’s really new for me. I don’t really make friends and maybe that’s one of my weaknesses. I always go alone, but not in this camp. I really wanted to tell my new friends how I cherish the moments I was with them, the chatting, the laughing, the praying, and the mere concept of being friends. I really can’t tell this in their face so I wish they would be able to somehow land in this blog of mine and read this.

Yay! So now let me just take this time to thank the people behind this camp-hangover of mine.

To Josh a.k.a. Choy, you’re a very good guy and no one can ever contest to that. Thanks for the nice I-like-what-you-like and I-know-what-you-know talks. Thanks for the musical sessions especially during the last night on the camp site, let’s do that again some other time. And just like what we told each other before leaving the camp site, this is just the first time, just the start of something, good, something great. God bless.

To Jizelle, you’re a very rare specimen and I like that. Some people may misunderstood you in some aspects of life but I stand firm in my belief that you are a good and nice person and that it’s God who’s moving in your life. Thanks for being game in front and behind the camera. Thanks for being jolly and perky. You’re mere presence makes me smile. And oh, thanks for the half mushroom burger. God bless.

To my co-counselors Ate Joanne, Ate Gellie, Ate Anne, Ptr. Donnie and Hannah, I really enjoyed the meetings. It was a pleasure working with you guys and I really hope that we can work together again, soon! If that happens, I promise to be willing to drain my brain juice just to plan and come up with good ideas prior to the event itself.

To Pastor Jobeth, your message really moved me. To tell you honestly, I was very sleepy that night but your message struck me hard that I even stayed up until 2AM. God really talked to me through you and to that I’m very grateful.

To Pastor Mark and the whole CBAP SOMA council, thanks for accepting my father’s request to include me in the list of counselors. The camp made a drastic change in my principles and thinking and it would not be possible if not for you. Thank you very much!

To my group members especially to Sarah, thank you for being good to me, for listening and interacting to my lessons and lectures and for respecting me even if I’m just almost as young as you. Thanks a lot.

I really had fun and I really feel uplifted. I can’t thank God enough for this experience.

For the first time, I felt infinite.

Thinking about feeling

Feeling is just a strong signal sent to our brain coming from an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness (emotion) that forces an individual to act and do something. Such signal is very indefinite since it’s based on emotions, hence making the word ‘feeling’ an unquantifiable state of mind.

Sometimes knowing this fact makes people think more and feel less. Even I myself am guilty of that. Sometimes I try to analyze everything happening around me which results to me not participating in any of those things, which is happening around me.

Now I wonder, why do people tend to rely on their feelings? And why do people get affected by their feelings? How can they possibly put too much faith and decide while under an unstable, wavering and unquantifiable state of mind?

Iron Man 2

I usually write a movie review right after watching it and another movie review after watching it again (3 times), but Iron Man 2 is an exception and I blame Scarlett Johansson for that. She made me Google her the day after. Geeez. LOL

Okay. To tell you honestly, watching Iron Man 2 was not listed on my to-do list under the April 30 page on my organizer because I saw on the trailer that it will be out on May 7. I was surprised when my Dad asked me if I want to watch the movie, he said he saw a TV spot saying “Iron Man 2, now showing”. I later figured out that the movie was released here (Philippines) earlier than the other countries. And so we went to the mall and buy 10PM (LFS) tickets.

To those who haven’t watched the movie yet, don’t you worry because there will be no spoiler here. But it is still highly recommended that you watch the movie first before reading this.

So let’s get into it! ~

Title: Iron Man 2
Director: Jon Favreau
Release Date: PH - April 30, International - May 7
Runtime: 124 minutes
Main Cast:

• Robert Downey Jr. – Tony Stark
• Gwyneth Paltrow – Pepper Potts
• Mickey Rourke – Ivan Vanko / Whiplash
• Scarlett Johansson – Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff (ooh yeah!)
• Don Cheadle – Lt. Col. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes
• Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury

Synopsis:
The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is the armored Super Hero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts, and James “Rhodey” Rhodes at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces.

What I think:
I think Robert Downey Jr. did a great job at this sequel, the emotions, the drama, everything.

The story was kinda simple (well for a super hero film), but heck, it works.

Just as the first movie, the special effects were great especially during the Mark V scene, during the last battle scene and every time Whiplash strut his electric whip. (Note: Mark V is the suitcase version of the Iron Man),

Also, I was expecting more from Whiplash but after minutes of pondering, I realized that he’s a physicist, not really an Iron Monger type of villain. And talking about physicists, Tony Stark’s laboratory rocks!

Scarlett Johansson kinda filled my brain after watching the movie. She was very hot, very rawrifying (what is that word?) and very en suite for her role, which is to be Black Widow. *enough ScarJo Josh! LOL*

The last scene with Senator Stern was hilarious; a really nice scene to make the viewers relax after the past intense scenes.

If you’re geek enough, there’s a less-than-a-minute clip after the credits so make sure to hold on to your sit until after the movie-proper.

Ratings:
Casting - 9 / 10
Special Effects - 9 / 10
Storyline - 8 / 10

So my overall rating for Iron Man 2 is “8.7 / 10″!

I recommend that you watch it asap!
Well, there’s really no need to watch the first movie but that’s very much suggested.