Chemistry and Tension

September 2, 2007

I'm just midway through Before Sunrise, but I felt that I had to get these thoughts down.

I'm just blown away by how natural the chemistry is between Jesse and Celine (thought: if I have a daughter, Celine would be a pretty good name). From the moment they meet, it's just there; and watching them feels so normal… it's like eavesdropping on a good conversation… or maybe picturing yourself being there. You catch yourself imagining you and someone else having that talk around the streets of Vienna.

Lucky are those among us who already have a name and a face to attach to that "someone else". The relationship doesn't have to be romantic. It just has to have that chemistry that makes everything feel natural and easy. However, when you have a mixture of that chemistry and a certain level of tension… well… I guess that is when things become romantic, and the sparks come flying.

From the get-go, you already see that there's this slight tension between the characters, but it's this one scene in the movie that brings the tension to a hilt. This is where Jesse and Celine go into a record bar and take this LP into the listening booth to test it out. It's a Kath Bloom record, and the song that plays is "Come Here". For a good minute, the song is just left playing while the camera is held still as it focuses on Jesse and Celine trying to steal glances from each other. It's just like this scene from Grey's Anatomy where George and Izzie are inside a linen closet - no words were said, but you could just see that they wanted each other so much that it hurt. I guess that's when it hurts a lot… chemistry plus suppressed tension… sometimes it just kills you.

Lucky for Jesse and Celine, the tension between them was finally released… in the form of a kiss… up on the Ferris Wheel… overlooking Vienna… just as the sun was setting. Perfect, innit? What a feeling of euphoria it is when you find that certain kind of chemistry.. mix it up with tensile stress… and finally get the opportunity to release it.

Okay, time to finish the film now, and then watch Before Sunset right after. 

Come Here
by Kath Bloom

There's a wind that blows in from the north.
And it says that loving takes this course.
Come here. Come here.

No I'm not impossible to touch
I have never wanted you so much.
Come here. Come here.

Have I never laid down by your side.
Baby, let's forget about this pride.
Come here. Come here.

Well I'm in no hurry.
Don't have to run away this time.
I know you're timid.
But it's gonna be all right this time.

Investment

September 1, 2007

I recently realized that investing your money in stocks or mutual funds is a tricky thing. There are times when all's good and on the up and up, but one scary stretch of losses can wipe away all of your gains just like that. During these scary periods of decline, there's always this nagging impulse to withdraw your investment and transfer them to a more stable place; however, I've learned the hard way that this can also burn you, and result in losses if your timing is off. This is why a friend told me that it's better to weather the storm, take the blows and just wait until the market stabilizes: Keep on putting in more investments because a healthy asset is bound to provide gains in due time.

…

I recently realized that emotional investment is even more tricky that financial investment. The amount of investment, the possible gains, and possible losses are all directly proportional to each other. There are times when all's good and on the up and up, but it only takes one really bad stretch to wipe out everything you have invested just like that. However, if the relationship you have invested in is healthy, no amount of trying times will make you break just like that.

I guess this is also the reason why some people are scared to invest - whether financially or emotionally - because big investments also bring equally big possibilities of loss even though there is also a big prospective gain.

Ako kuripot ako sa finances, kaya wary ako pagdating sa financial investment. The emotional investment is a whole different story. To those people that are dear to me, I am an open book and I get attached easily. I have a hard time letting go if the need arises.

Simply put, when it comes to money matters, maingat ako… but when it comes to matters of relationship, I'm a risk taker.

Time to asses my gains and losses now.